[Tax Story] Self-Quarantine, Freedom, and Taxes

Professor Ahn Chang-nam, Department of Economics and Taxation, Gangnam University

Visiting countries with far more confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) than our country is not an easy task. France, which closed its borders last April, opened its doors to Korea, which has excellent COVID-19 prevention, starting in July.

There was news of my daughter's childbirth, so I made up my mind and departed. Would the immigration screening be strict? However, to my surprise, the questionnaire handed out on the plane only asked if I had a fever and to provide contact information. There was no separate test at the airport. Now I was worried about the return journey. The air inside the plane was already different. I was asked to fill out several documents, including a special quarantine declaration form. After passing through the immigration screening at Incheon Airport, reminiscent of a military roll call, I took a government-designated taxi home. I also underwent testing at a nearby public health center. Then I entered a two-week self-quarantine. A few days later, relief supplies were delivered to my doorstep. I felt the dedication and effort of public officials and medical staff managing the nation's disease. I felt the value of paying taxes.

Self-quarantine was by no means easy. The pain of isolating oneself and not being able to take a single step outside the door was, like Eve's conflict when faced with the forbidden fruit, a continuous harsh ordeal. Lost in various thoughts, a loud warning sound suddenly rang on my phone along with a red message saying, "Location tracking is not working." It threatened that the responsible official would contact me. When I protested that I was staying put at home, they told me to turn my phone off and on again. It felt unsettling. Then came news of some medical staff abandoning their treatment sites. In fact, whether national or private, medical schools receive considerable tax support. Our society trusts the dedication and sacrifice of medical professionals.

Even if government policy implementation is unreasonable, it is hard to understand medical personnel neglecting patient care. Was the Hippocratic Oath sworn upon becoming a doctor ? "to prioritize the health and life of patients above all" ? a hollow promise? Suddenly, I felt that the taxes I had paid were wasted. Jesus was crucified for healing patients on the Sabbath. But if even doctors trained by universities that claim to follow his spirit neglect patients, where can we find hope? The voices of professors from those universities are barely heard. The legal maxim that silence implies consent comes to mind. (Recently, many medical staff have reportedly returned to patient care. Whether the reasons they initially left have been resolved is unknown.)

On the day my daughter, a doctor in France, returned to the hospital after maternity leave, I cautiously asked if she could extend her parental leave by a year because I was worried about COVID-19 infection as her father. She replied, "Patients are waiting for doctors, and retired doctors have been called back to treat patients," and without a second glance, she briskly went to work, ignoring my concerns. Freedom is not license, nor is it given for free. There is also a duty to respect the lives of others. This is especially true for those in uniform, such as doctors, soldiers, and police officers. The social criticism for even small deviations by these individuals is great, which is proof of the high level of trust placed in them. Because of this trust, taxpayers pay taxes without complaint.

I never want to undergo self-quarantine again. I dislike being monitored by an app and having my free will tested. I want to enjoy the inherent freedom of being human. If national finances deteriorate, COVID-19 prevention becomes difficult, and the lives and freedoms of citizens are threatened. From this perspective, it is clear that freedom grows from the soil of taxes. Freedom and taxes are two sides of the same coin. It is time for each citizen to act and practice without betraying the trust in one another from their respective positions. If we do so, Korea will become a developed country. <Changnam Ahn, Professor of Economics and Taxation, Kangnam University