Serious doubts if rakyat benefit from paying GST

Lim: Sue me, but I have to say, GST is truly ‘celaka’

 The Analyser: The basic fact is that governments need to raise money to provide services that are uneconomic for commercial interests to provide.

One of the most egalitarian ways of doing that is through a GST. Note that in the Pakatan Harapan budget, the proposal was not to delete the GST, but to rate it at zero percent…until the opposition (when in government) wants to impose it themselves.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng is pandering to the miserliness of the Chinese by constantly attacking the GST, pretending it’s an Umno plot and pretending he will be the Chinese hero and save them from contributing any tax to any government.

In fact a GST is a necessary component of good governance. One wonders at all these vague comments about the wonders of the Lim government in Penang.

Anonymous_1412829994: The double increment for government servants next has effectively wiped out the collection from GST.

With a total wage bill of RM68 billion a year, each increment on average amounts to about 4 percent to 5 percent of the prevailing pay, say 4.5 percent; double increment will add up to 9 percent of RM68 billion which amounts to more than RM6 billion, which is even higher than the projected GST revenue to be collected for the whole of next year.

Bsuara Right: GST is a ‘celaka tax’, bringing misery to all citizens. Some of the worst affected are the retail traders whose low profit margin are further complicated by the GST tax leading many of them to abandon their businesses.

With the current bleak economic outlook and faltering property market, GST is indeed contributing to more gloomy days ahead for everyone. GST is ‘celaka’ economic policy.

Rupert16: With GST, an unborn child has got to pay tax even when he or she is in the mother’s womb. Worst still, it is the poor with larger families that will have to foot higher tax bills. If this is not ‘celaka’, what is?

CQ MUAR: Couldn’t agree with you more, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. This accounts for the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s sudden confidence and readiness to provide answers in Parliament in relation to the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion fiascos.

After months of his elegant silence ‘fishing’ for solutions, and now with billions collected via GST and others, our Najib is now in stable financial position to service those debts.

Who cares how the rakyat suffers so long as it is a means to an end in solving his woes, which could lead to disaster and a subsequent downfall? The consequences will be too dreadful, and more than he could chew for himself and his beloved wife.

DramaQueen: Mr PM, we cannot afford to pay GST anymore. Do not make us suffer while others live in luxury with corruption money.

Anonymous_1421406986: This man is sadly a politician for a particular group of people, he can never be a national leader. With GST everyone, across the races, has to bear and pay taxes.

In the past it was claimed only a particular community or strata of wage earners paid taxes. Had it not been for GST, against the nosedive of crude oil prices, Malaysia and Malaysians would have faced a bleak future, worse than the last Asian recession.

Guan Eng may be an accountant but it does not make him an economist. Is it ‘celaka GST’ or ‘celaka Najib’, for it began with Najib? GST has in many ways changed the buying style of consumers. Many have today become wise buyers. Surprisingly we also see some savings.

Anonymous #7856234569: Absolutely ‘celaka’. It is double taxation on taxpayers. Taxing on the sick, children, jobless and retired.

Anonymous*: You can’t compare Singapore with Malaysia. Yes they do have GST and it would be fine if Malaysians had the same standard of living, if there was transparency, no leakages, accountability for government spending, services, roads, medical facilities etc, as the taxes are used to provide all this and more.

The issue is not that the government should not have GST. It’s about burdening the rakyat without appropriate justification, as loads more needs to be done to contain spending and leakages and ensuring that existing taxation is properly utilised, before adding to the rakyat’s burden.

Firestone: This country is really ridiculous. Totally no freedom of speech and like a police state. everything sue, sue, sue…go sue WSJ.

For Our Next Generation: The cost of our family daily necessities have gone up between 15-20 percent due to our depreciating ringgit, Our Malaysian importers have to buy US dollars to order goods from overseas(normally via Letter of Credit), ringgit is not accepted. This is a simple layman’s logical explanation.

Anonymous_40f4: GST tax is truly ‘celaka’ to rob the rakyat, especially the poor. Everyone has to pay tax to the corrupt and wasteful BN government, whether you are poor or a bankrupt.

The GST tax is a killer. It’s best to put off all expenses and spend only for very essential daily needs. Every time I make it a point to see the GST 6 percent tax on every purchase receipt and curse Najib and BN/Umno government.

Roy69: GST is good provided we have a clean government that is accountable for every sen it uses and every sen collected is indeed channeled to the rakyat. So, at this moment GST is ‘celaka’ indeed.

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