Govt puts off GST Bill – for now

 Economy, Malaysian finance/business, Poverty  30 Responses »
Mar 142010
 

It’s not surprising that the government has decided to put off the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for now.

While the NGOs might claim preliminary victory (they had planned a protest for Monday, when Parliament resumes) and some might think that the government has listened to the people’s concern, I believe it was the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturer’s objection that probably saved the day.

Five days ago on Tuesday, the FMM’s task force on GST recommended that the tax be deferred until Malaysia was ready (when average income was higher and income disparity lower).

We shouldn’t be too thankful to the FMM though. They very “kindly” suggested that the government consider a Retail Sales Tax instead of a GST – while the corporations continue to enjoy ever-lower tax rates. Gee, thanks!

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 Posted by Anil Netto at 12.45am  Tagged with: , , ,

Rich Germans ask for higher taxes

 Economy, Neo-liberal economics  7 Responses »
Nov 252009
 

A group of rich Germans has launched a petition calling for higher taxes on the rich to help their country recover from its economic crisis.

The campaign – “Vermoegende für eine Vermoegensabgabe” (Wealthy people in favour of a wealth tax) – proposes a five per cent wealth tax for two years followed by a reduction to one per cent for those with a personal fortune of more than 500,000 euros (US$750,000).

This is in sharp contrast to Malaysia’s move over the years to a regressive taxation model – reducing taxes for corporations and the rich, and now shifting the tax burden to the larger public, including the low-income group (currently exempted from income tax), through a new Goods and Services Tax (GST). Corporate tax has been progressively reduced from 40 per cent in 1988 to 26 per cent now, and now GST will be imposed probably at 4 per cent – for a start.

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 Posted by Anil Netto at 11.20pm  Tagged with: , , , , ,