Blatant and excessive corruption is one reason why Malaysians are evading paying taxes, says Datuk A. Kadir Jasin in his blog today. — File photo
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25
— Blatant excess and corruption in government spending were why Malaysians
sought to evade paying taxes rather than a purported sense of disloyalty, Datuk
A. Kadir Jasin wrote in his blog today.
Disputing
Putrajaya's view that tax evaders were unpatriotic for failing to add to the
country's coffers, the former group editor-in-chief for English daily New
Straits Times believed the public were sickened by the sight of their
hard-earned tax payments falling victim to the government's profligacy.
“More and more
people, I believe, are reluctant and unhappy to pay taxes because they hold the
view that the government is lavish and corrupt,” he wrote in a blog entry
today.
“As a further proof,
civil servants are paid bonuses. The poor are being promised higher BR1M. The
government is spending billions engaging consultants. Ministers and their
spouses are jetting around the world, purportedly promoting diplomacy and
attracting investments.” The veteran newsman was referring to recent
revelations in Parliament that appeared to show no slowdown in government
spending despite a chronic budget deficit that has forced Putrajaya to roll out
a new tax and slash subsidies for the public.
Among others, these
include a RM7.2 billion bill for private consultants since 2009 and a
disclosure that RM180 million was spent for flights on a private jet for
government leaders last year alone. This were in addition to the annual
teeth-gnashing by the public that greets the Auditor-General's Report on
financial wastage to the tune of billions of ringgit that rarely, if ever, sees
offenders punished.
Yesterday, state
news agency Bernama quoted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as saying that
those who avoid paying tax can be regarded as having betrayed the country, and
those who paid their dues were showing their patriotism. Najib's remarks were
made when when outlining the government’s reasons to introduce the
controversial Goods and Services Tax (GST), which was confirmed during his
Budget 2014 speech last month.
The attempt to link
tax contributions to patriotism also attracted a swipe by former Cabinet
minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who dubbed Chinese Malaysians “true patriots”
after claiming the minority group paid more taxes than any other race in the
country, including the dominant Malay community. “I agree with PM that paying
tax is patriotic act. Since more Chinese pay tax than the Malays they are true
patriots,” Zaid said on his Twitter account, @zaidibrahim. Earlier, Najib was
also quoted as saying the revenue was needed to continue developing the
country, as Malaysians were now more demanding and had higher expectations of
the government. Malaysia’s proposed GST rate of 6 per cent, which will be
enforced from April 2015, is the lowest in the region, whereas most countries
implement a 10 per cent value added tax (VAT).
The consumption tax
was first announced during Budget 2005 and was originally scheduled to be
implemented in 2007, and tabled for the first reading in 2009 for
implementation in late 2011, but was withdrawn during the second reading in
2010 following fierce public resistance. Unlike income tax, which is only
applicable after a certain salary level is exceeded, the GST means all
Malaysians will be taxed according to their level of spending, regardless of
income. Its introduction has met with vehement resistance from certain consumer
groups and opposition parties, most recently PAS where its religious cleric
wing called the GST “unIslamic” during its annual congress which kicked off
last week.
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