Saturday, May 12, 2012

Structural reforms vital


Publication: NST
Date of publication: May 2, 2012
Section Heading: Main Section
Page Number: 018


THE World Bank report unveiled recently has lowered its growth forecast for Malaysia's 2012 gross domestic product to 4.6 per cent from the previously forecasted 4.9 per cent, citing the global economic situation as the main cause. As external demand slows, it will directly impact our economy via trade channels.

Highlighted in its report entitled "Malaysia economic monitor: modern jobs", is the need for the Malaysian economy to accelerate structural reforms to transform the economy to a high-income one by 2020, which requires a five to six per cent growth annually.
With just eight years to go, the report draws attention to some key areas of structural reforms, such as the education system, subsidy rationalisation and the tax system. Allow me to elaborate and give my thoughts on these areas.
IN TERMS of our education system, there is a need to depolarise our society -- to have a system where everyone studies under one roof.
With regard to higher education, there is no doubt that our universities need to be empowered. A university is for people to develop their minds. It is neither a vocational school to produce workers nor an instrument for politicians to achieve their vested interests.
Therefore, an archaic law that prevents professors and students from thinking and exchanging their thoughts freely should be repealed once and for all. In this regard, the amendment of Section 15 of the Universities and University Colleges Act is a step in the right direction.
On graduate employability, the focus should not only be on language proficiency, but rather the inability of students to articulate their thoughts verbally and in written form. In fact, most of them can't even articulate their views in their mother tongue.
To overcome this, I propose the introduction of subjects, such as philosophy, in universities that can mould them to think critically and place greater importance on other crucial subjects such as history, literature, and sociology.
THE OTHER key reform stressed in the report is the rationalisation of subsidies. It is neither prudent nor sustainable to control prices through subsidy.
Instead, the government should find other better ways of controlling prices, such as promoting competition, increasing efficiency, stimulating production, and enhancing competitiveness. Bank Negara can also control prices through monetary tools.
It is important to note that subsidies amount to only around 13 per cent of the government's operating expenditure. While reducing subsidies is necessary, other operating expenses can also be rationalised, such as grants to states and local authorities.
For long- and medium-term objectives, new sources of revenue should be explored. Currently, about 40 per cent of our revenue comes from oil and gas. We can no longer rely on oil as it is a depletable resource.
Therefore, the economy needs to be diversified. New potential markets have to be identified, capacity building initiatives for certain strategic industries have to be intensified, and the exploration for alternative energy needs to begin sooner rather than later.
FINALLY is the issue of tax reform, specifically the goods and services tax (GST). GST is a broad-based system that can enhance government revenue in the near future. It is crucial for the GST to be implemented as soon as possible.
But for whatever reason, the government chooses not to implement it sooner, it should at least give a clear time frame on when it is going to be put in place to substitute the current sales and services tax system.
This is crucial to show the political will of the government and to give space for the market to adjust to this new tax system.
We cannot lose sight of the long-term goal of transforming the nation to become a high-income and developed country by 2020.
What the economy really needs right now are structural reforms, which, as the report puts it, "lie at the core of transforming the economy into a high-income one".
The economy must grow by five to six per cent annually for Malaysia to become become a high-income nation category by the year 2020.


Read more: THE ECONOMY: Structural reforms vital - Letters to the Editor - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/the-economy-structural-reforms-vital-1.79830#ixzz2WHLylxL7

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Malaysia's Economy To Grow By A Slower 4.5 Per Cent This Year


KUALA LUMPUR (May 10, 2012): Malaysia''s economy is expected to grow by a slower 4.5 per cent this year due to weaker external demand, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

This is in comparison to the 5.1 per cent in 2011 from 7.2 per cent in 2010. ESCAP said the fiscal deficit remained at around 5.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011 after declining from 7 per cent in 2009 to 5.6 per cent in 2010.

"This was largely due to wide ranging subsidies on the expenditure side and delayed introduction of the goods and services tax (GST)on the revenue side, which remains heavily reliant on oil revenue," it added.

International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (ICEIF) Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem said the local economy would be spurred by domestic demand. However, Mohamed Ariff said Malaysia’s budget deficit is a major concern.

"There are already signs that Malaysia''s credit rating is under pressure with the risk of downgrading.

"There is a need to rein in expenditure and increase tax revenue," he added, at the launch and briefing of ESCAP''s Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2012 here today. Mohamed Ariff said Malaysia''s fiscal deficit at above three per cent is a concern.

"The large deficit is attributed to wide-ranging subsidies (four per cent of GDP) and heavy reliance on oil revenue (40 per cent). "The saving grace is that debt is largely domestic (less vulnerable to external shocks). But a debt is a debt," he added.

Meanwhile, ESCAP Economic Affairs Officer Dr Oliver Paddison said the Asia-Pacific region will experience slowing growth in 2012 amidst global turbulence.

He attributed this to spillovers of the euro zone turmoil, global oil price hikes, excess liquidity and volatile capital flows. "The key long-term challenge is high and volatile commodity prices," he added, at a media briefing, on the ESCAP survey.

Paddison said growth is forecast to moderate to 6.5 per cent in 2012 from seven per cent in 2011 in the Asia Pacific region, with downward pressure from subdued developed economies.

"Despite the slowdown, the region remains an anchor of stability and growth pole for the world economy," he added.


He said a major concern is the insufficient job creation in formal sector in developing countries with a high young unemployment with the young three times more likely to be unemployed. -- BERNAMA

GST and CAT briefing sees good turnout

Posted on May 9, 2012, Wednesday

TAX TALK: (From third to sixth left) Othman, Impira, Alex,
Noelle and others before the start of the briefing.

SARIKEI: About 200 representatives from the business community, heads of departments, community leaders and non-governmental organisations attended a briefing on Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Customs Appeal Tribunal (CAT) organised by the Malaysian Royal Customs Department at the civic centre here yesterday.

The main purpose of the briefing was to enlighten the target groups on the two subjects.

Briefing on GST touched on tax in general, current consumerism taxation, the purpose or objectives of GST, proposed GST model and preparation towards its implementation.

The same applies to the briefing on Customs Appeal Tribunals which champion the objectives of providing an appeal system which is fair, transparent and speedy for any persons aggrieved by the decision of the director-general of Customs and enhancing the efficiency of the tax administration appeal system to make it more business and client friendly.

Basically CAT is an avenue for anyone aggrieved with the decisions of the director- general of Customs under the Customs Act 1967, Excise Act 1976, Sales Tax 1972 and the Service Tax Act 1975 with the exception of matters relating to compound and subsection 128(3) of Customs Act 1967.

The appeal must be filed on Form A (Notice of Appeal) at CAT Office within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision and a RM100 filing fee is required.

Upon registration of the appeal, CAT would fix the date, place and time for hearing not less that 14 days in advance.

The briefing on CAT was presented by deputy chairman of CAT Othman Abdullah while GST was presented by senior assistant director of Customs II (Unit GST) Noelle Lily Morse.

Among those present were Divisional Customs chief Alim Impira and Deputy Resident (Social) Alex Liau.


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

GST and CAT briefing sees good turnout


Posted on May 9, 2012, Wednesday

TAX TALK: (From third to sixth left) Othman, Impira, Alex, Noelle and others before the start of the briefing.


SARIKEI: About 200 representatives from the business community, heads of departments, community leaders and non-governmental organisations attended a briefing on Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Customs Appeal Tribunal (CAT) organised by the Malaysian Royal Customs Department at the civic centre here yesterday.

The main purpose of the briefing was to enlighten the target groups on the two subjects.

Briefing on GST touched on tax in general, current consumerism taxation, the purpose or objectives of GST, proposed GST model and preparation towards its implementation.

The same applies to the briefing on Customs Appeal Tribunals which champion the objectives of providing an appeal system which is fair, transparent and speedy for any persons aggrieved by the decision of the director-general of Customs and enhancing the efficiency of the tax administration appeal system to make it more business and client friendly.

Basically CAT is an avenue for anyone aggrieved with the decisions of the director- general of Customs under the Customs Act 1967, Excise Act 1976, Sales Tax 1972 and the Service Tax Act 1975 with the exception of matters relating to compound and subsection 128(3) of Customs Act 1967.

The appeal must be filed on Form A (Notice of Appeal) at CAT Office within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision and a RM100 filing fee is required.

Upon registration of the appeal, CAT would fix the date, place and time for hearing not less that 14 days in advance.

The briefing on CAT was presented by deputy chairman of CAT Othman Abdullah while GST was presented by senior assistant director of Customs II (Unit GST) Noelle Lily Morse.

Among those present were Divisional Customs chief Alim Impira and Deputy Resident (Social) Alex Liau.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/05/09/gst-and-cat-briefing-sees-good-turnout/#ixzz2WC3YS6FI

Sunday, May 6, 2012

10 ways for the Government to raise revenue


Saturday May 5, 2012

A QUESTION OF BUSINESS
By P. GUNASEGARAM

AS salaried employees prepare to meet their deadline this month-end to file their returns and then pay their outstanding taxes, it becomes obvious that the Government needs to widen its revenue base.
Here are 10 ways for the Government to increase their revenue and save money. If they follow just half of these suggestions, they may not have to squeeze poor salaried workers by requiring them to pay an unreasonable 20% to 30% extra in taxes for merely not filing their returns on time, even if they were already paying taxes under the pay-as-you-earn scheme.
<b>Fair deal:</b> The Johor Premium Outlets in Kulai offers luxury handbags from brands such as Armani, Burberry and Coach. We badly need a broad-based tax whereby the Government gets income from consumption, especially by those who can afford it. Essential items can be exempted.
Fair deal: The Johor Premium Outlets in Kulai offers luxury handbags from brands such as Armani, Burberry and Coach. We badly need a broad-based tax whereby the Government gets income from consumption, especially by those who can afford it. Essential items can be exempted.
1. Introduce a value-added tax. We badly need a broad-based tax whereby the Government gets income from consumption, especially by those who can afford it. Very few people (perhaps a million) pay income tax at the moment and a tax on goods and services used will help. Essential items can be exempted. Such a tax also provides documentation which may help cut tax evasion.
2. Introduce capital gains tax. This will be a hugely unpopular move among those who make quick bucks from investments in the stock market and those who aid them. But the most capitalist of countries in the world, the United States, has just such a tax at 15% and there are those, like the world’s richest investor Warren Buffet, who think that it is still too low. We can be more progressive and impose a flat capital gains tax of say 30% which goes down to 15% after five years on all asset sales, including property and the like.
3. Get the wealthy who don’t pay tax. Ah, yes, this is a long-standing complaint. How come those who drive big cars and even those driven in one of them and who have huge houses don’t get taxed? Why is it so difficult for the Inland Revenue Board to track down these people and bring them to book? They can do so by simply looking at car and house ownership and checking against their tax files. There surely seem to be lot of people living way beyond their means and I suppose a lot of them will claim they made money from the market but if there is capital gains tax, they can’t claim that because the records should show they have paid the tax. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
4. Remove tax incentives. Yes, you heard right. Foreign firms and domestic companies that set up operations do so because we must have some competitive advantage. What’s the point of giving them capital allowances and tax holidays for long periods of time when they milk us for low labour and other low costs and don’t even pay taxes? In some cases there is a double blow – the same tax they don’t pay here is paid in their home countries instead because of tax laws. How unfair is that. I reckon we lose tens of billions of ringgit yearly through these measures.
5. Auction land. Why must state and federal governments constantly be allocating land to others and then allowing their conversion for use from say agricultural to residential or commercial, letting developers take tonnes of profit even before they have turned a bucketful of soil to develop their properties. The best way to do this is simply to have a master plan for all land the governments possess, have the state/federal government convert the land for appropriate use and then auction it in manageable parcels to those who will use the land intelligently, sustainably and will pay a good price for it based on the plot ratio they suggest. The governments can collectively make billions from such moves yearly.