Der kommer ugentligt nye meldinger om folk der i disse krisetider vælger at glæde andre. Desværre er det så alt for ofte man hører misundelsens røster i diverse aviser, må vi konstatere. Såsom den 10. august, hvor det kom frem at politidirektøren for Midt- og Vestjyllands politi, Jens Kaasgaard, har modtaget en hel del gaver. Såsom billetter, til ham selv plus ledsager, til en Bruce Springsteen koncert, Genesis koncert, samt Carl Froch mod Mikkel Kessler. Alle arrangementer holdt i Messecenter Herning, som var afhængige af godkendelser fra……Gæt selv : Politidirektør Jens Kaasgaard.
Men selvfølgelig skal alle folk have travlt med at råbe det grimme ord ‘bestikkelse’, og pege fingre. Men hvad nu hvis Messecenter Herning bare ønskede at vise deres påskønnelse af politiets ihærdige arbejde? Det er jo ikke som om der er en lov imod gaver til offentligt ansat….Vent, det er der da vist, noget om at embedsmænd kun må modtage lejlighedsgaver, såsom ved jubilæer, og det er i størrelsesordenen ‘et par flasker vin’ eller lignende. Jeg kan næsten forestille mig hvor god en vin der skulle til, hvis man skulle købe 2 flasker til samme pris som en Bruce Springsteen koncert. Utroligt at man bagefter kan høre vores justitsminister sige at der skal klare regler til.
Og mest utroligt af alt : Hvis nogen ikke-højtstående embedsmænd ‘glemmer’ at opgive en indtægt til Skat, vil de med det samme komme med bål og brand for at opkræve skat af disse. Men i mange tilfælde, hvor højt-rangerende kommunal direktører eller lignende får gaver, har man desværre ‘glemt’ at betale skat, men det retter man selvfølgelig med det samme. Gid det var lige så let for os andre at ‘glemme’ skat, men selvfølgelig være villige til at betale hvis vi bliver opdaget.
Dette giver bud nr. 6 : Betal din skat!
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In Denmark, we get weekly reports of people who choose to give gifts to others, just to bring merriment. Unfortunately, the only responses one usually hears are the voices of envy in various papers. Such as the 10th of august, where articles told us how the police-inspector of middle and west Jutland, Jens Kaasgaard, has received various gifts. Such as tickets, for himself and a companion, for a concert with Bruce Springsteen, concert with Genesis, and a major boxing match, Froch vs Kessler. All arrangements held at the Messecenter Herning, which happens to rely on permits from…..Yep, you guessed it : Jens Kaasgaard.
But just as soon as the news are out, people start yelling that ugly word ‘Bribe’, and start pointing fingers. But what if Messecenter Herning just wanted to show their approval of the general police work in the area? It isn’t as if there is a law against public servants accepting gifts…Oh, wait, my mistake, there is a law, actually. They can receive occasional-gifts (meant as in jubilees and birthdays), in the price range of a few bottles of wine or similar. I have a bit of trouble imagining how sweet a wine would be needed, if 2 bottles should cost the same as 2 tickets for a Bruce Springsteen concert. And I have more trouble imagining why our Minister of Justice would feel there is a need to make the rules more precise.
But most of all, it is incredible how easy these high-ranking officials get off the hook when they ‘forget’ to report an income to the IRS. If anyone else, with a regular job, forgot it, they would be nailed to a board and tortured until they remembered everything. But in these cases, where high ranking officials forget, they just make sure to pay the tax as soon as they are found out. I sure wish it was as easy for the rest of us to ‘forget’ tax, and then just shrug and pay if we were discovered.
This gives the 6th Commandment : Pay your tax!