When the Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority, James Dorbor Jallah, recently appealed to journalists to help "make Liberians tax compliant," he was, in essence, invoking the spirit of national partnership. His message was clear: to reach the government's ambitious US$1 billion revenue target, the LRA needs not only efficient systems but also the trust, cooperation, and patriotism of the Liberian people -- and of the media that inform them.
It was an inspiring call, especially his description of the media as "guardians of truth." Yet it also invites a deeper question -- one that lies at the heart of Liberia's fiscal reality: how can citizens be expected to trust a system that does not always honor its side of the social contract?
Taxation is not merely an act of payment. It is a covenant -- a matching grant between the governed and the governing. Citizens contribute to the common purse not only out of legal obligation, but out of confidence that their contribution will be used fairly, visibly, and accountably. The LRA's US$1 billion vision therefore demands more than compliance; it demands a billion dollars' worth of trust.
That trust, however, is fragile. For many Liberians, taxation feels like a one-sided deal -- where the citizen pays, but the state fails to deliver. The road remains impassable, the clinic lacks medicine, the teacher goes unpaid. In such a context, tax compliance becomes less a matter of civic duty and more a question of faith: Can I trust that what I give will return to me in public good?
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
Commissioner Jallah is right that the media must help to rebuild this faith. But that responsibility cannot mean echoing government slogans or sanitizing its failures. It means demanding transparency from those who collect, manage, and disburse the nation's wealth. It means tracing the journey of every tax dollar from the point of collection to the point of service.
If the media are to be "tax ambassadors," they (meaning "we") must also be accountability ambassadors -- empowered not only to inform but to interrogate, not only to explain reforms but to verify results. Public trust grows when public institutions are seen, not merely heard.
To the LRA's credit, there are important reforms underway: the planned transition from Goods and Services Tax to Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2027; the digitization of property tax through mapping; the modernization of customs through ASYCUDA; and the push for real-time visibility in electronic transactions. These efforts, if implemented with transparency, could bring much-needed credibility to the nation's revenue systems.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
But reform, without integrity, remains a slogan. Even the most sophisticated technology cannot substitute for ethical stewardship. The LRA's modernization must therefore be matched by an equally bold campaign for fiscal honesty -- the kind that punishes favoritism, enforces compliance at every level, and treats all taxpayers, big or small, by the same standard.
That is the real test of partnership. The government cannot demand compliance from citizens while turning a blind eye to corporate tax evasion, customs fraud, or insider privilege. Nor can it expect media cooperation while withholding access to information. Trust, like revenue, must be earned -- not decreed.
Liberia's US$1 billion vision is achievable. But it will not come from persuasion alone. It will come from a transparent and reciprocal relationship between state and citizen -- one where the taxpayer sees his contribution at work, and where the state sees the citizen not as a revenue target but as a partner in development.
In the end, taxation is not about arithmetic; it is about accountability. The amount of revenue a country collects is often a reflection of the amount of trust it inspires. A government that wants a billion dollars in taxes must first demonstrate a billion dollars' worth of integrity.
That is the essence of the social contract -- the true currency of national development.
