School's out, Victory Day is over, Midsummer is over, the Victory Day parade has been held and even the star parade has come and gone. Now we can focus on hoping for some real summer weather at last — and for lasting peace in the Middle East, which may or may not arrive. In a perfect world, we could offer the Middle East a bit of our peace in exchange for some of their warmth. But alas, that's a deal not even Donald Trump could pull off.

Setting aside the eternal talking points — world peace and the worst June weather ever — we still need something big, meaningful and tangible to bring us together as a nation, a people and a community.

Fortunately, the upcoming month of July offers an event that will set the hearts of all Estonians beating in sync, inspire shared thoughts and bring the same words to everyone's lips. One might assume it's the Song and Dance Festival "Iseoma," but something even more impactful looms ahead: the next round of tax hikes.

The upcoming value-added tax (VAT) increase, which will take effect just days before the Song Festival, has more in common with that grand national gathering at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds than one might expect. Both affect hundreds of thousands of people directly. Both have a long-lasting emotional impact. And both are tied to the survival of the Estonian nation. The Song Festival shows how we have endured every foreign rule as a nation that sings and dances. And according to our leaders, the VAT hike is necessary to ensure the state itself endures, because defense spending must be covered — and singing and dancing alone won't cut it. It's time to crack open the wallets.

The Song Festival is, of course, a beloved event; the new tax hike — not so much. Perhaps the government, as the nation's communication trailblazer, should have organized something similar to the "arrival of the flame" tradition that kicks off the Song Festival.

Just as the torch bearing the flame travels through every county in Estonia, perhaps a VAT torch could have made its way to every forward-looking and forgotten municipality alike, letting everyone know what a grand event lies ahead — and that it's a good thing. After all, many have heard of taxpayer money going up in flames somewhere or other, but it's quite another matter to see it for yourself in your own hometown. It fills the heart with... well, I don't even know what exactly, but it certainly fills it.

According to "Aktuaalne kaamera," when the VAT rises from 22 to 24 percent in July, consumers will feel the sting most acutely in grocery stores, where prices have already risen significantly this year and sales volumes have declined. And the 5 percent increase in fuel excise duty won't go unnoticed either.

The last time VAT went up 2 percent, I remembered that a product I occasionally buy cost €8 before the hike. After the 2 percent increase, I summoned what little math skills I had and went to buy the same item with €8.16 in hand.

Turns out the time I spent learning math in primary school was a total waste — because at the store, the product that used to cost €8 now cost €15. If something similar happens with milk, then those used to making oatmeal with milk will have to start using water instead. And if that's still too expensive, just skip the oats altogether.

When it comes to rising food prices, it ultimately doesn't matter whether the cause is a VAT hike, a fuel tax increase, higher production costs or retailers adding their own markup. The result is the same, because one leads to the other and the next and so on. Complaining about tax and price increases has practically been declared an act of treason, which means we should be grateful for them. After all, a person with an empty stomach doesn't just gain stronger resolve to defend — they may also feel more inclined to attack. Let's raise VAT by another 2 percent, and then we'll take Pskov and St. Petersburg in no more than three and a half days.

If you come home from the grocery store with the same solemn emptiness in your soul — and probably also in your wallet — as you feel at the Song Festival Grounds after "My Fatherland Is My Love" has been sung and the flame has been extinguished, then it's worth looking inward. That burning feeling inside — ask yourself: is it the fire of patriotism, or just heartburn?

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