Lisa J. Ariffin
October 17, 2013
Free Malaysia Today
Opposition believes the government should first address issues related to corruption and ill spending rather than rush into implementing GST that will further burden the poor
PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Rakyat has urged Putrajaya to consider structural reforms to address current weaknesses in the economy instead of rushing into implementing the much-debated goods and services tax (GST).
“Something as major as the implementation of GST must be brought down to the average consumer and debated in parliament in order to get a full standing,” Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah said during the forum “GST: Cure or Addiction” hosted by Pakatan last night.
“I urge the people to write to the Prime Minister and their respective MPs to highlight this issue… that before they proceed with implementing GST, they must not only ensure proper consultation but also punish corrupt ministers and their relevant ministries.
“Then only they can go to the people and ask for their money,” she added.
Nurul was referring to the recent Auditor-General’s (AG) report which revealed leakages in government spending totaling up to RM6.5 billion.
“In my opinion, the prevalence of corruption is likely to make incidences of tax reforms more inevitable,” she said.
“It is very important to understand the ramification, and that not all justifications made by the government on GST are true. This is something to be considered seriously.
“GST is regressive. Evidence has shown that the higher you earn, the less you pay. The people from the middle-income group will have to pay more compared to the higher income group,” she added.
Nurul reiterated the need of proper disclosure on GST, “so that in the end we can choose the best sort of policy that can benefit everyone”.
“What kind of government can be so shameless to tax the people wholesale when they have blatantly stolen our money as shown in the AG’s report?” she asked.
“The position taken by Pakatan is that before we embark on any taxation policy, we will consider the state of economy, what to do to eradicate corruption and prevent leakages,” she said.
She then cautioned the public to accept the government’s announcements on GST with a pinch of salt.
“Take whatever announcement made by the government with caution. Even a cursory glance on the government’s website does not provide necessary information for the people to prepare themselves for the effect of the economic downturn,” Nurul added.
Increase incomes, not taxes
Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said the government should focus on elevating workers’ incomes instead of increasing taxes.
“The real problem is that 85% of people don’t earn enough to pay taxes,” Pua said, pointing out that only 15% of Malaysian workers earn enough to pay taxes.
“For the past 10 to 15 years, these peoples’ income has remain stagnant, below RM2,500,” he claimed.
“Instead of working out policies to raise the income of these people, so they can pay taxes, the government is saying ‘the poor can’t get richer so let’s start taxing the poor’,” he said.
“GST means the poorer you are, the harder you get hit. That is regressive tax.”
In August, Finance Ministry secretary-general of Treasury Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah announced that the government was working to include the long-delayed consumption tax in the upcoming Budget 2014 for it to be introduced by 2015; adding that GST is “no longer an option”.
Source:
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/10/17/gst-is-regressive-for-nation-says-pakatan/
