Pakar ekonomi: Pelaksanaan GST perlu ada tempoh percubaan

May 8, 2014

Prof Datuk Dr Amir Hussin Baharuddin berkata tempoh percubaan itu perlu bagi melihat pelaksanaan CBP tidak hanya menguntungkan pihak tertentu dan memberi tekanan kepada pengguna.

Oleh Erda Khursyiah Basir

KUALA LUMPUR: Cukai Barang dan Perkhidmatan (CBP) yang bakal dilaksanakan pada 1 April 2015 wajar melalui fasa percubaan terlebih dahulu bagi memastikan ia benar-benar berkesan dan memberi manfaat kepada rakyat dan negara.

Pakar ekonomi di Pusat Pengajian Ekonomi, Kewangan dan Perbankan, Universiti Utara Malaysia Prof Datuk Dr Amir Hussin Baharuddin berkata tempoh percubaan itu perlu bagi melihat pelaksanaan CBP tidak hanya menguntungkan pihak tertentu dan memberi tekanan kepada pengguna.

“Perkara yang menjadi kerisauan rakyat khususnya pengguna ialah dengan adanya GST (CBP), pasti akan ada ejen atau pihak yang meminta pengecualian cukai dan memindahkan cukai tersebut kepada pengguna.

“Sebagai pengguna memang wajar ada kebimbangan sekiranya pihak pengeluar, pemborong dan penjual meletakkan perpindahan cukai kepada mereka dan mengakibatkan mereka perlu membayar lebih daripada kadar enam peratus yang ditetapkan,” katanya.

Belum cuba, belum tahu

Dr Amir Hussin berkata selagi belum dilaksanakan, kesan CBP masih belum dapat dilihat dan dirasai.

“Ada pihak yang berpendapat kadar enam peratus untuk permulaan terlalu tinggi namun saya berpendapat jika kita tak mula lagi (GST) macam mana kita nak tahu kadar itu tinggi atau rendah. Kita laksana dulu dan tengok kesesuaiannya.

“Sistem ini mungkin akan terdapat beberapa kelemahan pada permulaannya. Rakyat perlu bersabar dan memberi teguran membina agar penambahbaikan boleh dijalankan dari semasa ke semasa,” katanya.

Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pada pembentangan Bajet 2014, Oktober lepas berkata kerajaan mendapati Cukai Jualan dan Perkhidmatan (SST) sebanyak 16 peratus pada masa ini, mempunyai kelemahan tertentu seperti kesan cukai berganda ke atas pengguna, ketiadaan pelepasan cukai ke atas barang yang dieksport dan isu pindahan harga.

Justeru, kerajaan akan memperkenalkan CBP dengan kadar enam peratus bermula 1 April 2015 bagi menggantikan SST yang kini dikenakan ke atas barang dan perkhidmatan tertentu.

Banyak pengecualian

Mengenai beberapa pengecualian CBP, Dr Amir Hussin berkata rakyat seharusnya realistik mengenai barangan yang dikenakan CBP dan memahami matlamat CBP yang dicadangkan kerajaan.

“GST (CBP) yang akan dilaksanakan nanti ada banyak pengecualian, tetapi rakyat jangan nak harap semua barang dan perkhidmatan ada pengecualian kerana jika dikecualikan semuanya, tak perlulah ada GST (CBP),” katanya.

Beberapa barangan makanan asas antaranya beras, gula, garam, tepung, minyak masak, kacang dhal, cili, rempah ratus, ikan masin, pekasam, cencaluk, budu dan belacan serta bekalan air paip dan 200 unit pertama elektrik sebulan bagi pengguna domestik dikecualikan daripada CBP.

Selain itu, CBP juga tidak dikenakan terhadap perkhidmatan yang disediakan oleh kerajaan seperti pengeluaran pasport, lesen, perkhidmatan kesihatan, pembelajaran di sekolah.

Turut dikecualikan adalah perkhidmatan pengangkutan seperti perkhidmatan bas, keretapi, LRT, teksi, feri, bot, tol lebuh raya serta perkhidmatan pendidikan dan kesihatan, jual beli dan sewaan rumah kediaman serta perkhidmatan kewangan terpilih.

Sistem invois

Sementara itu, Pensyarah Pengurusan Perniagaan Antarabangsa Universiti Utara Malaysia Prof Dr Mohamad Hanapi Mohamad berkata negara yang berjaya melaksanakan CBP merupakan negara yang sudah memperkenalkan sistem ‘invoicing’ (resit invois)

bagi setiap transaksi perniagaan mereka.

Katanya penguatkuasaan ‘invoicing’ sangat berkesan kerana mampu membentuk sistem yang lebih telus dan bertanggungjawab selepas audit dilakukan terutama terhadap pengimport dan pengilang.

“GST (CBP) difokuskan kepada pengeluar barangan dan perkhidmatan. Oleh itu, mereka tidak boleh sewenang-wenangnya memindahkan GST (CBP) kepada pengguna kerana setiap aktiviti direkodkan melalui resit invois.

“Kita bimbang sekiranya pengeluar memindahkan GST (CBP) kepada pengguna terakhir, maka kos akan meningkat dan kita akan dilihat sebagai tidak efisyen dalam mengamalkan sistem ini,” katanya.

Beliau berpendapat CBP mampu meningkatkan pendapatan negara selain daripada cukai pendapatan dan cukai korporat serta berupaya mengurangkan permasalahan fiskal.

Perkemas sistem urus niaga

Katanya negara perlu memperkemaskan sistem urusniaga di semua peringkat kerana dengan adanya sistem penguatkuasaan dan penyampaian yang telus dan bertanggungjawab akan mendorong kepada kejayaan CBP.

“Kerajaan juga perlu memastikan rakyat yang wajib membayar cukai tidak melarikan diri. Cara memastikan rakyat membayar cukai ialah dengan tidak membebankan mereka dengan pelbagai jenis cukai, maka ‘take-home income’ (pendapatan bersih) mereka akan meningkat sekaligus turut memberi kesan kepada kuasa beli.

“Apabila kuasa beli meningkat, ia akan menjana lebih banyak aktiviti ekonomi yang akan memberi manfaat kepada rakyat dan negara,” katanya, sambil menyatakan bahawa terdapat tiga kumpulan utama yang berperanan bagi memastikan kejayaan CBP

iaitu kerajaan, pengeluar/pembekal dan pengguna.

Mohamad Hanapi berkata antara cabaran yang perlu ditangani ialah memberi kefahaman mengenai CBP, memastikan CBP berjalan lancar serta memberi keadilan kepada pengguna kerana tahap kefahaman dan aktiviti ekonomi di antara tiga kumpulan tersebut adalah berbeza.

Lebih kompetitif

Ketua Penolong Setiausaha CBP, Bahagian Cukai, Kementerian Kewangan Ezleezan Othman berkata rakyat tidak seharusnya bimbang dengan pelaksanaan CBP sebaliknya menyambut baik terutama ketika berhadapan kos sara hidup yang kian meningkat.

Katanya dengan penstrukturan yang dirancang kerajaan, CBP boleh membuatkan harga sesuatu barang itu rendah atau lebih kompetitif.

“Sekarang sudah ada cukai jualan pada kadar lima peratus, 10 peratus dan cukai perkhidmatan pada kadar enam peratus. Secara asasnya, apabila GST (CBP) dilaksanakan, kedua-dua cukai ini akan dimansuhkan dan digantikan dengan satu

cukai sahaja yang dikenakan pada kadar enam peratus.

“Dengan pemansuhan cukai jualan dan cukai perkhidmatan, kita akan menghapuskan unsur-unsur negatif yang menyebabkan harga barangan di Malaysia mahal atau tidak kompetitif. Di era GST (CBP), pengguna akan membayar dengan harga yang lebih telus,” katanya.

Ezleezan turut menerangkan bahawa CBP merupakan sistem percukaian lebih adil, iaitu orang yang berkemampuan akan membayar lebih berbanding orang yang kurang berkemampuan.

Menerusi CBP yang lebih efektif, hasil negara akan bertambah dan kerajaan pastinya akan memulangkan hasil kepada rakyat dalam bentuk pembangunan dan bantuan terutama kepada golongan yang memerlukannya.

Corak perbelanjaan

Mengenai kesan CBP terhadap golongan berpendapatan rendah dan sederhana, Ezleezan berkata kajian terhadap corak perbelanjaan golongan berpendapatan rendah mendapati barang dan perkhidmatan yang tidak dikenakan CBP merangkumi kira-kira 60 sehingga 70 peratus perbelanjaan bulanan mereka.

“GST sebenarnya akan ditanggung dalam kadar yang besar oleh golongan berpendapatan tinggi. Boleh disimpulkan, GST yang bakal dilaksanakan nanti tidak akan memberi bebanan kepada golongan berpendapatan sederhana.

“Besar atau rendah bebanan GST yang bakal ditanggung seseorang itu adalah bergantung kepada corak perbelanjaan mereka. Jika seseorang berbelanja banyak ke atas barang atau perkhidmatan yang dikenakan GST, maka besarlah kadar yang perlu dibayar,” katanya.

Bernama

Kenyataan Mufti Pahang terhadap GST dipengaruhi selera politiknya

FMT Staff | May 7, 2014

Mungkin mufti hanya faham huruf T di belakang GST, iaitu taat kepada kerajaan yang membayar gajinya.

PETALING JAYA: Ahli Parlimen Raub, Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz mempersoalkan kenyataan dan kaedah menilai hukum oleh Mufti Pahang, Abdul Rahman Osman (gambar) mengenai Cukai Barangan dan Perkhidmatan (GST) yang menurutnya sangat mengelirukan dan terpesong daripada kaedah pengeluaran hukum.

Menurutnya, sebelum ini, Mufti Pahang telah mengeluarkan kenyataan iaitu apa sahaja bentuk kutipan cukai, tidak menyalahi hukum selagi hasil yang diperolehi disalurkan kepada golongan yang layak untuk membantu meningkatkan tahap pendidikan dan pembangunan ekonomi.

“Mungkin mufti hanya faham huruf T di belakang GST, iaitu taat kepada kerajaan yang membayar gajinya.

“Mungkin kalau Mufti Pahang kaji mengenai laporan Kastam Malaysia, hasil dari cukai kastam dan duti eksais serta cukai jualan dan perkhidmatan sekarang ini sekitar RM16 hingga RM17 billion setahun. Apabila GST dilaksanakan kelak, tambahan kepada hasil cukai kastam dan eksais serta GST adalah sebanyak RM6 hingga RM7 billion,” katanya dalam posting blognya yang terbaru, www.sakmongkol.blogspot.com

Tambah Ariff lagi, jumlah bayaran BR1M yang dibayar oleh pihak kerajaan pula adalah sebanyak RM4 hingga RM5 billion. Jumlah yang dibayar itu hampir-hampir melenyapkan hasil tambahan dari kutipan cukai GST.

“Baki sebanyak RM2 hingga 3 billion pula digunakan untuk menampung defisit yang dialami oleh negara kita iaitu sebanyak RM40 billion,” ujarnya.

Jelasnya, Mufti Pahang itu juga telah mengeluarkan fatwa bahawa adalah haram untuk menggulingkan kerajaan.

“Saya sokong kalau fatwa itu turut sama memasukkan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang, Kelantan, dan Selangor. Saya juga sokong agar semua kerajaan tersebut haram digulingkan atau ditukar. Saya harap orang-orang Umno boleh patuh kepada fatwa politik Mufti Pahang ini,” katanya.

Jelasnya, kenyataan Mufti Pahang tersebut sarat dengan prasangka beliau dan dalam pada masa yang sama menyembunyikan selera politiknya. Ternyata bahawa Mufti Pahang akan mendepankan agenda politik kerajaan yang membiayai gajinya.

“Saya doakan Mufti Pahang tidak termasuk golongan al-munafiquun wal munafiqa yang disebut dalam al-Quran,” ujar beliau.

Menurutnya kemungkinan kenyataan Mufti Pahang itu diambil berdasarkan ayat daripada surah An-Nisa ayat ke 59 yang mana di dalam ayat tersebut Allah menggesa orang-orang beriman taat kepada Allah, Rasul dan ulil amri.

“Adakah ketaatan kepada Allah dan Rasul itu sama dengan ketaatan kepada manusia biasa. Ketaatan kepada Allah dan Rasul adalah ketaatan yang mutlak, tetapi ketaatan kepada manusia mesti tidak sama kerana manusia penuh dengan kecacatan, dan kekurangan kecuali manusia tersebut bertaraf Rasul.

“Saya tidak fikir Mufti Pahang dan pemimpin Pahang serta pemimpin Malaysia bertaraf Rasul,” ujarnya.

Katanya lagi, kemungkinan juga ulamak Umno lupa untuk membaca ayat sebelumnya itu, iaitu daripada Surah An-Nisa, ayat ke 58.

Dalam ayat tersebut, jelas menyatakan bahawa berikan amanah kepada mereka yang berhak menerimanya.

“Sebagai contoh, kita haruslah memilih pemimpin yang berkelayakan, siuman, kuat akal dan yang paling penting apabila kita menjalankan hukuman ia mesti adil dan saksama,” katanya.

Tambah Ariff lagi, mengikut kaedah mufti Pahang, penukaran kerajaan adalah mustahil, sebab jika kerajaan lemah, zalim dan mengambil rasuah, kita tidak boleh menukar kerajaan sebaliknya hanya boleh menegur mereka. Jahanam kita kalau dengar pandangan mufti seperti ini,” katanya.

Bukan itu sahaja, ahli parlimen DAP itu turut menambah bahawa tujuan politik semuanya adalah untuk mendapatkan kuasa dan mengekalkan kuasa.

“Usaha Mufti Pahang itu tidak lain dan tidak bukan hanyalah untuk mempertahankan kerajaan yang dia setujui dan yang membayar gajinya,” katanya.

Jelasnya lagi, suatu pandangan yang bertaraf fatwa haruslah konsistem dan aplikasinya bersifat universal atau sejagat.

Mufti Pahang berhak menyuarakan pendapat sedemikian namun apa yang menyebabkan pandangannya mendapat liputan adalah beliau memegang jawatan sebagai mufti negeri dan pengucapannya disiarkan oleh media yang dimiliki oleh pihak kerajaan.

“Eloklah kita mulakan perbincangan dengan menyedari bahawa kerajaan diwujudkan oleh rakyat dan kerajaan pula mendapat kuasa dari rakyat melalui persetujuan mereka. Rakyat yang beri kepercayaan, dan rakyat berhak menarik balik kepercayaan tersebut,” katanya.

Ujarnya, apabila mana-mana kerajaan yang menyalahgunakan kuasa, maka adalah menjadi hak rakyat untuk membatalkan kerajaan tersebut dan membentuk kerajaan yang baru. Kerajaan yang baru itu haruslah dibentuk atas dasar prinsip bahawa tujuan kerajaan adalah untuk mendapatkan keselamatan dan kesejahteraan rakyat.

Katanya, rasa tanggungjawab dan hemah menuntut bahawa kerajaan tidak boleh diguling dan ditukar sewenang-wenangnya hanya kerana sebab-sebab picisan.

“Mufti Pahang sudah biasa dengan pemerintahan BN di Negeri Pahang, maka pandangannya tentulah menyokong pengekalan kerajaan yang beliau sendiri sudah biasa,” katanya.

Jelasnya, apabila terdapat rentetan yang berterusan ekoran salah guna kuasa, korupsi, dan membawa kepada penindasan serta kekejaman, maka adalah menjadi tanggungjawab dan hak masyarakat untuk membuang kerajaan yang sedemikian.

Keadaan inilah yang terjadi dan fatwa dari Mufti Pahang itu mencerminkan rasa cemas pendukung kerajaan.

“Suka saya ingatkan mufti bahawa tiada yang mencadangkan bahawa kita akan menggulingkan kerajaan secara kekerasan atau cara bersenjata. Kita hanya mahu gulingkan kerajaan Najib secara demokratik dan mengikut undang-undang,” katanya.

GST will not burden rakyat, assures Najib

May 5, 2014

PM says the government will look into exempting more goods and products from the GST without affecting the revenue base expansion.

PUTRAJAYA: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a progressive tax system and its introduction is not meant to burden the people, said Najib Tun Razak.

The prime minister said the GST awareness campaign would have to be intensified to enlighten the people on its merits and basis so that no one would protest for no reason.

“We must explain that many people are not paying taxes. As finance minister, I know that many are not paying taxes or are paying less than what they should have.

“This system (adopted by 90 per cent of countries) is more progressive as it depends on how much our expenses are.

“And in this way, together with steps taken to exclude taxes on essential items used by the people, the introduction of the GST will not burden the people,” he said at the Prime Minister’s Department monthly assembly here today.

Najib said the government would look into the possibility of exempting more goods and products from the GST without affecting the revenue base expansion.

The GST implementation can help stimulate growth and enable the country to provide more infrastructures and basic needs in urban and rural areas, he said, adding that, “If we do not build more modern infrastructures, we will lose our competitive advantage.”

The prime minister said more expenses were needed for human capital as it was also a critical factor in terms of competitive strength of any country.

“The tax revenue is also required for healthcare as there is a need to have more hospitals, medical equipment, etc that are urgent needs of the people,” he said.

Najib said adequate revenue was also required to take care of 1.5 million civil servants.

“This is the philosophy of the government of the day and I believe that such a move would elevate the country to the stature that we aspire,” he said.

Najib said if the system was proven effective in 90 per cent of countries, it must have been found to be a progressive tax system that was fair and acceptable to the people.

The government will implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST), effective April 1, 2015 at a fixed rate of six per cent to replace the Sales and Services Tax at 16 per cent.

Bernama

GST: Najib & Co delusional

Zainal Ajamain | May 4, 2014

It is no good claiming that other countries are imposing the same GST without really studying holistically the economic structure of those nations especially their wage model.

Prime Minister Najib Razak is of the opinion that the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is important for the government and good for the country.

But GST is a regressive consumption tax. This means that the more a person consumes the more tax that person has to pay.

This type of tax has been imposed by other countries throughout the world with diverse consequence.

Malaysia studied none of these countries before imposing such tax on its people.

Unlike other countries in the world about 80% of working Malaysians are wage earners.

This means they receive a fixed steady monthly income. Sadly, the value of this income is diminishing due to inflations and the decline of the ringgit.

The situation is exacerbated by individual income which has never been increased for more than 20 years.

Malaysians used to be praised as having the most savings but lately the number of households in debt has increased to more than 80%.

This could be perhaps due to declining incomes and increased prices in essential goods.

In such a case, the government is already using individual debt to offset the burgeoning national debt.

In short the people have to pay for the government’s extravagance and leakages.

As an economic strategy to help the government, this is simply not sustainable.

Input and Output GST taxes

The GST will impose additional financial burden on at least 80% of the Malaysian workforce especially to those earning less than RM3,000 a month.

The long list of people that need the BR1M handouts is one good example of the number of household that needs government assistance.

This is because each of these household will spend most of their fixed monthly income to purchase basic household items.

Such data may be collated from the Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri which vets those eligible for BR1M.

The figures of the people that do not pay tax is not included.

Once GST is imposed then the price of goods as we know it now will increase tremendously depending on the number of GST (Input Tax) imposed on the products.

In addition to this input tax, there is also the GST (Output Tax) that each consumer needs to pay the minute they purchase for the product.

It is no good using the excuse that the majority of the countries in the world are imposing the same GST without really studying holistically the economic structure of those nations especially their wage model.

Similarly there is no point in saying that GST is exempted on essential goods such as food stuff, flour and edible oil.

This is because these essential goods are inter-dependent on other factors along the business-chain before it reaches the consumers.

These inter-dependent factors which are not exempted from consumption tax will push up the price of a product.

For example, rice must be transported from the fields to the warehouse before it is again transported to the shops where it is stored for a while before consumer purchases it.

Even though rice itself is an essential item which is exempted from GST, but the logistics, storage and labour is not exempted from GST.

As a result, rice will become more expensive due to GST.

Therefore whoever is saying that GST is good for this country is delusional.

‘Muftis must know facts before pronouncing edicts’

Alyaa Azhar | May 3, 2014

Pahang mufti Abdul Rahman Osman should also reprimand the government on its various leakage, says PAS' Dzulkefly Ahmad.

PETALING JAYA: Muftis should analyse all aspects of an issue before making statements in order for them to be deemed credible.

PAS central working committee member Dzulkefly Ahmad said this in response to Pahang mufti Abdul Rahman Osman who yesterday urged Muslims to support the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).

“Do not simply blurt out edicts like this. We do not expect muftis to know all the technicalities, but at least let the opinion be an informed one,” Dzulkefly told FMT.

“It is his (Abdul Rahman’s) right to give an opinion, but do not let people view it as a selective and unfair one,” he said.

The former Kuala Selangor MP said after financial aspects are analysed, only then would the mufti institution be deemed worthy of respect.

Further commenting on the matter, Dzulkefly said Abdul Rahman should have also mentioned the aspect of governance in the country; of the various leakage and lack of transparency.

“He should also remind the government that the need of the GST in the first place was due to the budget deficit in the last 15 years.

“As such, he should question what is the guarantee that the GST will overcome the deficit,” he said.

Dzulkefly stressed that as a mufti, Abdul Rahman must represent the interests of all Muslims, and not just that of the government.

“Although appointed by the government of the day, muftis must be non-partisan and above all, uphold justice.

“They should be able to scrutinise the GST, not simply as a tax system per se, but also whether it will fulfill all the maqasid syariah.

“Although the GST may be looked upon as a replacement of the sales and service tax, he (Abdul Rahman) should first ascertain how it would impact the lower and middle income group,” said Dzulkefly.

The maqasid syariah are the foundational goals which seek to preserve religion, life, lineage, intellect and property.

He then elaborated that Islam does not permit for taxes to be collected from the poor.

“We are supposed to collect tax from the rich and distribute it to the poor. But the GST is across the board. Even the poor will have to pay (tax),” he said.

Abdul Rahman yesterday said that Muslims should not oppose the implementation of GST and should instead assist the government in implementing it.

He reasoned that Islam did not forbid tax implementation as long as it is done according to Islamic law and is not oppressive.

The Pahang mufti also said that tax collection was not new as it was implemented since the time of Caliph Umar who collected tax to be distributed to the poor.

GST: Who has the better argument?

Selena Tay | May 3, 2014

GST will not solve fiscal problems but in fact will make it worse.

More than 50,000 people turned up for the anti-GST rally held on May 1 recently. This columnist who took the KTM Komuter train to KL had met up with a few members of the PAS Women’s Wing and joined them for the rally.

All these women opined that they opposed the GST (Goods & Services Tax) for the simple reason that goods will cost more after GST is implemented on April 1 next year.

The BN federal government relied on its 133 majority in parliament to push through the GST and gave two arguments for backing up the same.

The first argument was that GST will not hurt the rakyat because it replaces the Sales and Service Tax (SST) which has the higher rate of 10% whereas GST is only at 6%.

Furthermore, they claimed that under the current SST system, there are two types of taxes, the 10% tax and the 6% tax which will overall total up to 16%.

This argument is a fallacy as not many people pay the SST on a regular basis as it is implemented in upmarket restaurants and hotels only, whereas GST will tax the poor on a daily basis due to many more goods falling under the jurisdiction of the GST.

In actual fact, under the GST everything is taxable unless exempted, unlike under SST wherein everything is exempted unless taxable. See the great difference?

The World Bank in a paper entitled ‘Value Added Taxation: Mechanism, Design and Policy Issues’, in acknowledging that VAT (GST) is inherently regressive, stated that attempts to reduce it through exemptions and zero-rates have proven ineffective.

This is simply because it is impossible to do so as one cannot segregate food, goods and services consumed by the poor from those consumed by the rich.

Of course the poor will go for the cheaper toothpaste, for example, but the toothpaste will still have the GST imposed on it.

This means that under GST even the poor will be taxed (although they are excluded under SST) and this certainly will make the poor much poorer as their daily purchases will be taxed.

Rising debt levels

The second argument put forward by the BN federal government in support of the GST was that 160 countries have adopted GST and therefore it must be good.

This is yet another fallacy as countries that have to be bailed out as well as those verging on the edge of financial collapse all have GST. Among these countries are Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Ireland.

Prior to the 1960s before the introduction of GST, these European countries had debts on a percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) below that of USA who does not implement GST.

Since the introduction of GST, these European countries with the exception of Spain has a higher debt level than the USA.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the public debt of the USA is 106% of its GDP, Greece is 158%, Portugal 123%, Ireland 117% and Italy 126%.

Even the Asian Tigers such as Japan and Singapore have a higher debt level than the USA with Japan is at 208% and Singapore at 111%. Clearly GST has not helped in reducing these countries’ debt level.

Therefore the warning of Milton Friedman rings true: “In the long run, the government will spend whatever the tax system will raise, plus as much more as it can get away with.”

Thus GST will not solve fiscal problems but in fact will make it worse. In addition to that, many countries have increased the GST rate after its inception. When this happens, the poorer citizens will be burdened more and this will lower public consumption as these people struggle to make ends meet.

Based on the experience of the 10 largest countries that had adopted the GST, the average GST rate has risen from 10.7% at inception to 16%, an increase of more than 50%.

For GST to generate higher revenue, a combination of base broadening and rate hikes will have to be considered. This is the norm as all governments typically prefer to allow a higher spending than making the difficult decision to cut expenditure.

This means that the more the government collects from the rakyat, the more they will spend on what is collected instead of being prudent in spending and saving up by curbing wastages, leakages, corruption and cronyism.

The more the government has, the more they will be spendthrift so our effort in paying GST is all wasted.

The rakyat must not forget that while the SST is a tax paid at the level of the final production or supply of services, GST is payable at every level of the supply chain and finally borne by us, the consumer and GST as mentioned earlier applies to many more goods and services compared to the SST.

At the end of the day, we will be burdened more while the government can still continue to simply spend. Looks like terrible times lie ahead. And this GST too will be added on to the current price hikes going on.

Selena Tay is a DAP member and an FMT columnist.

Kalau nak demonstrasi, tak perlu pilihanraya, kata Dr Mahathir

May 1, 2014

Tindakan itu jauh terpesong dari amalan demokrasi

KUALA LUMPUR: Tindakan mengadakan demonstrasi besar-besaran untuk menjatuhkan kerajaan sebenarnya jauh terpesong daripada landasan amalan demokrasi, kata bekas perdana menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Mahathir berkata tindakan itu juga membuktikan pihak terbabit tidak memahami had kebebasan yang diberi untuk melahirkan rasa tidak puas hati.

Beliau menegaskan salah guna amalan demokrasi menyebabkan banyak negara gagal membangun dan berkembang maju khususnya negara-negara yang baru berjinak-jinak dengan amalan itu.

“Kalau kita perhatikan demokrasi yang lama seperti di Eropah dan Amerika, mereka mungkin tidak puas hati dengan kerajaan yang dipilih majoriti tetapi mereka menunggu sehingga pilihan raya sekali lagi untuk menjatuhkannya.

“Sebab itu negara mereka aman, tenteram dan boleh dibangunkan dengan baik,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas menyampaikan ucaptama di Perhimpunan Agung Persekutuan Antarabangsa Perekabentuk Dalaman/Pereka XXVI dan Kongres REKA 2014 di sini, hari ini.

Dr Mahathir berkata demikian mengulas tentang perhimpunan menolak pelaksanaan cukai barangan dan perkhidmatan (GST) yang dianjurkan beberapa badan bukan kerajaan dengan sokongan parti politik pembangkang, yang disifatkan cuma alasan kepada tujuan yang lebih besar iaitu menjatuhkan kerajaan sedia ada.

Sejajar dengan itu, Mahathir meminta rakyat Malaysia memilih sama ada mahu hidup secara aman harmoni, atau dalam keadaan huru-hara atas tindakan tidak bertanggungjawab segelintir pihak.

Beliau sekali lagi menegaskan wakil rakyat pembangkang sepatutnya memainkan peranan yang lebih berkesan di saluran yang betul iaitu di Parlimen, dan tidak mengheret rakyat ke jalan raya.

“Kalau nak guna ‘street demonstration’ tak guna pilih wakil rakyat sebab tak pernah berkesan,” tegasnya.

Terdahulu dalam ucaptamanya, Dr Mahathir menggesa pemain industri untuk lebih kreatif dalam menghasilkan binaan yang mencerminkan identiti Malaysia dan warisan dunia.

Beliau juga meminta mereka mengambil perhatian iklim negara supaya binaan yang dihasilkan tidak mendatangkan masalah di kemudian hari.

Dr Mahathir juga melahirkan rasa bangga apabila Menara Berkembar Petronas masih menjadi sebagai ikon dan menarik ramai pengunjung meskipun terdapat monumen lain yang lebih menarik di negara luar.

- Bernama

Build more affordable homes in Penang

Athi Shankar | May 1, 2014

Workers earning RM3,000 to RM5,000 monthly cannot afford to buy houses in Penang today, says MTUC.

BUTTERWORTH: The Penang branch of Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) wants both the federal and state governments to build more affordable homes for lower income workers in the state.

Its chairman S Ravindran said both governments should also improve the public transportation system to reduce the cost burden of workers.

He cited that even workers earning RM3,000 to RM5,000 monthly cannot afford to buy houses in Penang today.

“More affordable homes should be available for lower income workers.

“Public transportation, especially buses, should be more efficient, affordable and reliable.

“This would reduce the cost burden of already squeezed low income workers in Penang,” said Ravindran during the state-level MTUC May Day rally

This year’s rally, dubbed as the anti-GST rally, was held from 10am until 12pm in an open space at Jalan Siram – Jalan Telaga Air junction here today.

Some 400 workers turned out for the rally, holding placards and banners calling on the federal government to withdraw the implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST) for it would add to the cost burden of the workers.

MTUC already submitted a memorandum to Putrajaya demanding the withdrawal of GST citing solid reasons, said Ravindran.

“We want the government to meet and discuss the issue with us.

“This is something that we had never experienced before. Suddenly the government wants to introduce 6% GST. We want GST withdrawn,” he demanded.

Other MTUC demands to the government were to increase the minimum wage from current RM900 to RM1,500 per month; introduce cost of living allowance (Cola) of RM300 monthly to workers in private sector; increase petrol subsidy; subsidise medical treatment and essential food items; and reduce cost of basic utilities.

Ravindran said it was social responsibility and public duty of governments at all levels to implement policies to ease the cost of living and provide free and affordable basic amenities, facilities and utilities to the people.

“Workers are the backbone of the country. Their welfare and well-being must emphasised with utmost importance in public policies,” insisted Ravindran.

Rakyat keliru mengenai maklumat GST

May 1, 2014

SURAT FMT: Dari Suraya Amri, melalui e-mel

Cukai Barangan dan Perkhidmatan atau GST merupakan topik perbualan hangat terutamanya ketika pengumuman mengenai kenaikan harga perumahan sekaligus menyebabkan orang ramai risau harga barangan dan perkhidmatan yang lain juga akan naik.

Ramai menyuarakan perasaan kurang puas hati di laman sosial malah ada yang terlibat dalam demonstrasi untuk menentang perlaksanaan GST. Contoh terbaik yang dapat dilihat adalah demonstrasi jalanan yang bakal berlangsung pada 1 Mei ini di sekitar Kuala Lumpur.

Kita semua pasti tahu perdebatan antara PR dan BN dalam menegakkan pendapat masing-masing. PR mengatakan bahawa perlaksanaan cukai ini akan menjadi satu beban terutamanya terhadap mereka yang berpendapatan rendah manakala BN pula mengatakan perlaksanaan GST akan menguntungkan rakyat dan juga negara pada masa depan.

Perbezaan ini bukan sahaja menyebabkan percanggahan pendapat tetapi juga pertikaman lidah dari penyokong kedua-dua parti. Akibat perbalahan antara kedua-dua parti politik adalah kekeliruan informasi tentang GST berlaku sehingga Yang di-Pertuan Agong telah membuat kenyataan secara rasmi supaya semua parti politik tidak membuat kenyataan atau mengambil tindakan yang dianggap sebagai provokatif atau sensitif.

Keadaan ini menimbulkan persoalan ini: Adakah perbalahan ini semata-mata tentang prinsip GST dan kesannya ke atas rakyat dan negara, ataupun terdapat agenda disebaliknya?

Jika diteliti, GST akan menggantikan cukai yang sedia ada sekarang iaitu cukai Perkhidmatan dan Barangan (SST) yang terdedah kepada penyalahgunaan. Bukankah perlaksanaan sistem cukai yang lebih efisien dan telus suatu perubahan yang baik untuk negara kita?

Malah, sistem GST yang bakal dilaksanakan telahpun 30 tahun di dalam perancangan dan mengambil kira kebajikan rakyat melalui bekalan cukai sifar dan bekalan dikecualikan cukai. Namun, ramai yang masih sangsi dengan cukai ini kerana banyak implikasi negatif yang diperbalahkan.

Andrew Webb, Pengurus Polisi di Jabatan Kastam dan Cukai, UK, berkata GST adalah mekanisme cukai yang paling berkesan di dunia dan kira-kira 158 negara telah melaksanakan GST. Beliau juga menyatakan bahawa GST adalah sistem cukai yang lemah, sistem cukai ini tidak akan dilaksanakan. Bukankah negara lain akan menukar sistem cukai ini jika ia benar-benar suatu sistem yang teruk?

Dari perspektif rakyat, perbalahan antara pemimpin politik daripada kedua-dua belah pihak yang cuba mendidik rakyat tentang GST tanpa konteks telah menimbulkan kebimbangan yang tidak sepatutnya. Justeru itu, kekeliruan makin memuncak kerana kebenaran tidak dapat dibezakan daripada propaganda.

Debat tentang GST tanpa fakta kian tidak terkawal terutamanya, di kalangan mereka yang terperap dalam pemikiran bahawa parti politik yang disokong sentiasa betul dan mahu yang terbaik untuk rakyat.

Kita tidak seharusnya menyokong apa yang dikatakan oleh pemimpin berdasarkan kesetiaan terhadap parti politik. Kita semua mampu membuat penilaian tanpa dipengaruhi dan sebanyak mana kita menyokong sesetengah parti, ini tidak bermakna pendapat mereka selalunya betul.

Sebagai rakyat Malaysia, bukankah harapan kita semua agar negara maju dan dapat meningkatkan kualiti kehidupan tidak kira sebelah mana politik anda menyokong? Bagaimana untuk melangkah ke hadapan jika kita menentang sesuatu perlaksanaan hanya kerana kita menentang kerajaan? Kita sebagai rakyat Malaysia seharusnya bertanggungjawab atas pembangunan negara daripada hanya bergantung kepada kerajaan ataupun pemimpin politik.

Setiap individu berhak atas pendirian dan pendapat masing-masing. Lebih penting lagi adalah tanggungjawab kita untuk mendidik diri sendiri tentang isu-isu yang akan memberi impak kepada kehidupan harian, terutamanya dalam topik GST. Rujuklah kepada informasi dan fakta daripada sumber selain daripada pihak politik.

Pakar-pakar dalam bidang akaun, cukai ataupun organisasi-organisasi dunia yang mahir dalam topik ini merupakan sumber informasi yang tidak berat sebelah. Berita terkini menyatakan bahawa Bank Dunia menyokong langkah Malaysia untuk melaksanakan GST kerana ianya sebahagian daripada rancangan rasionalisasi subsidi yang baik.

Sebagai insan yang berakal, kita sepatutnya mendidik diri sendiri tentang GST dan dengan itu menilai sama ada GST adalah cukai yang baik ataupun tidak untuk dilaksanakan. Sekurang-kurangnya kajian yang kukuh harus dibuat jika perlaksanaan GST tidak disetujui dan bukanya atas pengaruh pemimpin yang dikagumi.

Jika dilihat pada fakta dan angka yang sedia ada, perlaksanaan GST suatu keputusan yang salah? Janganlah hanya mengikut benarkah pendapat pemimpin politik atas dasar kesetiaan dan melupakan kewajipan kita untuk membuat penilaian yang kritikal.

SMEs face GST ‘burden’

The Malaysian Reserve | April 30, 2014

By K Vinotharan

KUALA LUMPUR: Small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) will be the most affected by the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from April next year due to lack of resources and funds to comply.

A survey of 1,000 companies undertaken by the National ICT Association (Pikom) found that SMEs will see significant impact on their revenue as they are the most in need to customise financial planning, tax filing and invoice billing to comply with GST collection.

Pikom chairman Cheah Kok Hoong said SMEs are now looking for financial support from government agencies and local vendors like banks and technology vendors to help ease the burden to make their organisations GST-ready.

“At this stage, many organisations have found themselves having only allocated a limited budget and possessed inadequate resources and knowledge to properly get themselves ready in facing the far-reaching operational and financial impact of a new tax system on their business,” he said in a statement.

He said in addition, they are also turning to ICT vendors to seek consultation to optimise the existing organisational infrastructures to comply with the new GST system.

The survey also saw that there is a large number of organisations in Malaysia that are still not ready for the implementation of the GST.

Over 70% of local organisations have indicated that their employees need more training to implement the GST system and further manage the impact to business operations.

The survey also shows that as of now, there are less than 25% of organisations that have sent their ICT employees to be properly trained to implement and leverage the new GST system.

Cheah said local ICT organisations are playing an important role to cushion the impact of local businesses trying to deal with the complexity of GST by leveraging on their expertise and track record of GST implementation in other countries.

Cheah said Pikom will host a series of seminars on GST in line with its efforts to educate organisations especially SMEs to gain in-depth insights on the new tax system.

Recently, the Malaysian Retail Chain Association (MRCA) had reported that only 10% of retailers in Malaysia are ready for the implementation of GST.

This content is provided by FMT content provider The Malaysian Reserve

World Bank lauds Malaysia’s subsidy rationalisation plans

April 29, 2014

World Bank director Ulrich Zachau says that Malaysia is doing good in terms of reducing untargetted subsidies and channeling it to the needy.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) — Malaysia’s shift to targeted subsidies with its subsidy rationalisation plans and upcoming implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), is a good policy that will benefit those who really need them, said World Bank Country director Ulrich Zachau.

“What Malaysia is doing in terms of reducing untargetted subsidies and moving towards the improvement of targeted subsidies, is a good policy.

“Many beneficiaries of subsidies don’t need them, they are going to lose those perks while people really in need will continue in getting them,” said Ulrich, who is based in Bangkok and oversees Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos markets.

He said this to reporters after attending a World Bank seminar to shed light on its “World Development Report 2014″ here today.

According to Bank Negara Malaysia’s Assistant Governor, Marzunisham Omar, continued fiscal reforms would ensure that the country can sustain its growth beyond only one to two years.

“Fiscal reforms will offer necessary buffer and financial resources to lessen the impact of a financial crisis, if it were to happen,” he said in the seminar.

The latest “World Development Report” shows that Malaysia had done well in terms of preparedness for risks, as well as tackling macroeconomic and financial risks, according to Ulrich.

Locally, Malaysia has the challenge of facing a higher household debt compared to other countries, but it wasn’t a concern that would trigger immediate financial crisis, he said.

“Malaysia is still in a good position to continue its robust growth rate,” he said.

-Bernama

‘Standardise prices before imposing GST’

Ng Suzhen | April 29, 2014

Due to the decades old cabotage policy East and West Malaysia have different prices on common items.

KOTA KINABALU: Prices of goods in East and West Malaysia should be standardised before the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is implemented, said Consumer Affairs and Protection Society Sabah (CAPS).

Its president James Bagah said only then would the tax make sense to Sabahans and Sarawakians.

Due to the decades old cabotage policy West and East Malaysia have different prices on common items.

This has been a bane on East Malaysians, who pay between 20-40% more for consumer items than their West Malaysian counterparts.

“GST should be abolished for Sabahans and Sarawakians because consumers here are already paying a much higher price than those in peninsular Malaysia.

“It should not be imposed on us because this is an additional burden on the people. This is equivalent to East Malaysians being doubly taxed on goods,” said a frustrated Bagah.

Aware that the GST Bill has been approved by parliament, Bagah nonetheless said the federal government has the power to withhold on implementating the new tax system.

“We want the government to consider abolishing or withhold the GST for East Malaysia unless the prices we pay for goods are the same as that being paid in the peninsular.

“Only then will it be considered fair to us. 1Malaysia should have one price mechanism,” he said.

Bagah further added that if and when implemented the GST would be open to abuse by unethical traders.

Warnings not enough

He urged the government to come down hard on errant businessmen.

“The government must come down hard on these businesses.

“Simply issuing repeated warnings to them will not be effective.

“The government should enforce harsher punishment on those who take advantage of consumers.

“Only harsh penalties will deter them from committing the same offence in future,” he said citing cases where prices displayed did not tally with the actual payment.

Customers, he said, had the right to know about hidden costs and it is imperative for businesses to include taxes into the displayed amount.

“Take fast food outlets for example, prices never include the imposed taxes.

“While there might be arguments that the fine print does state the extra paying price, people in general do not really read fine prints.

“The font is too small to be read, allowing business establishments to get away with already ‘fulfilling their responsibilities’ while customers are being deceived by the strategy.

“It is important that consumers are educated to be aware of their rights and learn to be particular when it comes to pricing to avoid being cheated,” said Bagah.

Don’t blame government

Meanwhile, state Assistant Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Anita Baranting urged the public not to blame the government for price hikes, saying it was the work of unscrupulous businessmen.

Echoing Bagah, she said it was important for the public to know their rights as consumers.

“The government, through the Domestic Trade, Coorperative and Consumerism Ministry has appointed more than 200 officers tasked to monitor prices of goods and services in the state but the number is insufficient as Sabah is very big.

“So I would like to call on CAPS members to help the government by reporting any cases of indiscriminate price increase so that we can take action against the perpetrators,” she said.

So far, more than 300 entrepreneurs across Sabah have been taken to court for committing various trade offences.

Get acquainted with GST, SMEs told

Alyaa Azhar | April 25, 2014

Awareness of its mechanism sooner will be beneficial to them before it is implemented in April, 2015.

PETALING JAYA: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been encouraged to attend seminars organised by professional bodies, explaining the intricacies of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Teh Kee Sin, president of the Small and Medium Industries (SMI) Association, said this was to ensure that SMEs will get the latest information on the tax which will be implemented in April, next year.

SMEs can be categorised as businesses in the manufacturing sector with an annual sales turnover not exceeding RM50 million or with less than 200 full time employees.

“They need to have basic knowledge of the GST as it will impact their business. At least go for the two-hour seminars,” he told FMT.

The Royal Malaysian Customs and various professional bodies are conducting GST awareness sessions, providing an overview of its mechanism

“You would not want to get caught with non-compliance (to the GST) especially since there are heavy penalties involved, would you?” asked Teh.

Teh who has attended six such seminars since Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced the GST during the Budget 2014 last year, said he now has better understanding on the matter.

He explained that it was important for him to have gone for these seminars, especially when his association members approached him with questions on the taxation system.

As participants have to pay a fee to attend seminars conducted by private companies, Teh urged them to go for ones conducted for free by the customs department.

Teh also encouraged SMEs to register with the customs department as taxable entities since SMEs “collect money on behalf of the government”.

Installing software

SMEs whose turnovers are more than RM500,000 annually may be required to register with the Customs Department by Dec 31, this year.

On the government’s subsidy for SMEs to purchase GST-compliant accounting software, Teh said there was no urgency in finalising the software to be used.

“The pressing issue here is registration (with the customs department). We were told that we might not necessarily need to purchase new software since some existing ones can be simply upgraded,” said Teh.

Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan, last month, announced that the government has allocated RM175 million as subsidy for the SMEs.

Fifty-five companies have been appointed to develop the software and the selling price would vary subject to different specifications.

Businesses are needed to install the software for tax details and return claims purposes.

Teh also said that SMEs were also waiting for the list of approved companies, since the list has yet to be published by the customs department.

As such, he said he was unsure how much of the software cost will be shouldered by SMEs.

In his budget speech last year, Najib announced that the GST will be implemented at a rate of 6%. Opposition leaders have branded the tax as a regressive, which will only burden the rakyat.

No GST on salmon and lobster

Selena Tay | April 23, 2014

Blame frivolous government spending for the nation's financial woes, not the subsidies for the people.

The federal government has announced that the GST (Goods & Services Tax) will not burden the poor. Really?

This columnist finds it difficult to believe when various types of salmon and lobster are exempted from GST while canned sardines, baked beans and instant noodles will bear the full brunt of the GST.

The food products given the GST waiver include Pacific salmon, Atlantic salmon and Danube salmon while the lobsters are Norway lobster and rock lobster. Trout, crayfish and oysters too are among the food products to be given the GST waiver.

Now you see how off-target the government is. Are the poor going to eat salmon, lobsters and oysters on a very regular basis? This is a clear indication that the government is out of touch with the pulse of the rakyat.

Certainly the slogan of ‘People First’ is untrue, to put it mildly.

Besides implementing GST on instant noodles, the government is blaming the subsidies given to the rakyat for the soaring federal debt.

“Even the Prime Minister has resorted to what can be labelled as an ‘alarmist tactic’ of mooting the idea of Malaysia going bankrupt if GST is not implemented,” said Dzulkefly Ahmad, the former PAS Kuala Selangor MP who is a strong opponent of the GST.

The government saying that the subsidies are too costly for the nation’s coffers is an extremely flimsy statement that seeks to absolve the government of managing the nation’s finances responsibly by putting the blame squarely on the rakyat.

Instead the government cajoles the rakyat by saying that GST will help the government to help the rakyat. It is another case of ‘You help me, I help you’.

We are also told that the GST will end the 16-year fiscal deficit and thus our sovereign rating will avoid downgrading.

Thus GST is the solution for the nation’s fiscal woes. In actual fact however, GST is the wrong prescription to cure the nation’s ills because GST will dampen private consumption (household expenditure) which the government depends on to fuel GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth.

Rising price hikes

Yet the government is adamant on implementing GST. The outcome will be fatal to the rakyat especially the poor and the low-income group who will be drowning to cope with the rising price of goods due to the effect of the current subsidy cuts and future subsidy cuts.

Then GST will truly come to mean ‘Go Strangle Them’ as the rakyat will be strangled by price hikes.

The government’s move to attribute the federal debt to the subsidies for the rakyat is indeed despicable, deplorable and diabolical for it simply means that the rakyat is a burden to the nation and the government.

By saying that the subsidies caused the federal debt to soar and by implementing ‘subsidy rationalisation’, the government is in effect saying that the rakyat contributed to the federal debt.

And thus the subsidies are irrational spending which needs to be rationalised. This implies that spending on the rakyat is irrational!

The government must be fair and play its role accordingly. It is unjust of them to only expect the rakyat to sacrifice our subsidy allocation so as to rescue the nation from bankruptcy when it is frivolous government spending that is the cause of the nation’s financial woes.

“What about the massive subsidies given to the IPPs (Independent Power Producers), the grants to various utility concessionaires, tax-breaks and incentives to industries and corporations, etc? These are subsidies too by whatever name they are called but why aren’t these subsidies ‘rationalised’ as well?” questioned Dzulkefly.

The PAS man also noted that additionally debts were incurred due to sustaining bloated prices for contracts and leakages because of corruption and the litany of sins of omission and commission are shameful much as they have caused colossal losses of taxpayers’ money.

“Everywhere there is wastage, from procurement and contract to asset and revenue management as can be seen in the yearly audit report wherein the corruption-ridden and crony capitalistic or rent-seeking activities of the nation’s administrators stink to the high heavens and are seemingly unabated,” remarked Dzulkefly.

The extra revenue obtained from GST will only encourage the government to spend more given the fact that they are prone to fiscal non-discipline.

Prudent spending

The Finance Minister-cum-Prime Minister is also in the habit of going back to parliament to seek additional funds.

“If he still continues to do so after GST is implemented, it would show that even making use of the GST as the rakyat’s money-churning machine is still not enough when the government continues to spend and spend without thinking,” added Dzulkefly.

With the GST being imposed, the government must practice prudent spending.

Wanton wastage of the rakyat’s hard-earned income is definitely very wrong. But the day that the government is prudent in spending will be the day that the cow jumps over the moon.

Indeed, do not hold your breath waiting for such a day to come.

Selena Tay is a DAP member and a FMT columnist.

MCA: Rethink GST on housing market

G Vinod | April 22, 2014

MCA wants the government to formulate a better policy on implementing the GST on the property market.

PETALING JAYA: MCA vice president Chua Tee Yong today urged the government to reconsider its decision to impose the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on housing projects as it would burden both buyers and developers.

Chua said that the government should also consider zero rating the affordable housing scheme, as the units are purchased by the low and middle income group.

“There is a misconception that residential property will not be affected by GST. Unless developers are willing to absorb the cost increase of about three percent, GST may cause a spike in the price of residential property,” he said.

Last year, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced that government will introduce the GST, replacing the Sales and Services Tax.

Recently, the Parliament passed the GST Bill, clearing the way for its implementation come April 2015.

Many have poured scorn on the new tax system, claiming it will further burden the masses who are already struggling with low wages and soaring cost of living.

Chua, who is also a former deputy minister, said that GST exemption for affordable housing scheme would not be sufficient as developers would still have to purchase building materials with GST, in which the cost would be passed down to consumers.

He added that there were concerns that GST will be imposed on car parks when one purchases a condominium unit.

“Normally when we purchase a condominium unit, it comes with either one or two car parks. The problem is, it is not attached to the building.

“So developers are concerned whether GST will be imposed on the car parks or not. They argue that it should not be the case.” said Chua.

He urged the government to come up with a proper guideline to ensure there are no confusion when the new taxation system is implemented next year.

On how GST would affect the property market if not regulated, Chua said that it would further escalate house prices which is already too high at the moment.

“Unless the developers are willing to absorb the cost, I can foresee further rise in the housing market.

“But it is unlikely that the developers will do so as they are already absorbing much of the infrastructure cost such as setting up telecommunication and electrical outlets,” he said.

Tian Chua: May 1 anti-GST rally not organised by us

G Vinod | April 16, 2014

PKR vice president Tian Chua says that it is not necessary for him to give a statement to the police as he is not the organiser for the May 1 rally.

PETALING JAYA: It is not necessary for me to give statement to the police on the May 1 rally, said PKR vice president Tian Chua today.

“We are not the organiser of the May 1 rally. PKR’s participation in the upcoming gathering is just to object the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and support workers’ demand,” he said.

Yesterday, the Dang Wangi police had summoned Tian Chua to give statement today on his participation on the upcoming May 1 rally, organised by Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM).

The rally, according to SAMM coordinator Badrul Hisham Shaharin, is to oppose the government’s move to introduce GST, come April 2015.

Tian Chua, who is also Batu MP, said that he would not be able to help the police if they question him on the details of the rally.

“So it is best if they talk to the NGO (SAMM),” he said.

Asked if the police insist on his presence, Tian Chua said that he would go on a later date when other Pakatan Rakyat leaders attending the rally are in town.

“Mat Sabu (PAS deputy president) is not around. So it is not proper for me to go alone as we will not be able to give a common stand.

“So I will go when the others are present. I have already told S Arutchelvan ( Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general) to convey the message to the police,” he said.

Arutchelvan is scheduled to give a statement to the police today in regards to the May 1 rally.

Meanwhile, Arutchelvan told FMT that the police were keen in facilitating the rally.

“They were proactive in wanting to facilitate the rally. We told them that civil society groups would be gathering in KLCC at 2 pm.

“A May Day Declaration would be read at 3pm and then we would walk to Dataran Merdeka,” he said after meeting the police in Dang Wangi district police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

He added that the police told him that Dataran Merdeka is closed for renovation work until June.

“We did not commit anything to that,” he said.

Arutchelvan added that the committee would notify the police 10 days before the event in accordance to Peaceful Assembly Act.

The police also wanted Pakatan leaders – PAS deputy president Mat Sabu and Kuala Krai MP Dr Hatta Ramli to notify the police on time.

The duo were supposed to meet the police today but Mat Sabu had requested for a meeting on April 21 which violates the ten day requirement.

It is learnt Pakatan Rakyat supporters would be gathering at various spots around KL such as Masjid Jamek and Sogo before gathering in Dataran Merdeka.