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Saturday, November 11, 2017

Mahathir back-flipped on GST

MM online - Dr M making U-turn after agreeing GST better than SST (extracts):


Najib said Dr Mahathir was aware of the matter and had already acknowledged GST was better than SST as his own administration had recommended to upgrade the system to GST then.

“Ultimately, Tun Mahathir agreed with the government that the GST did cover the shortfall in oil revenue amounting to RM40 billion.

“But as he already made a promise to abolish GST, he now wants to replace GST with SST, an obsolete system that has been repealed by 160 countries in the world. Again, Tun did a u-turn,” he said.

He said Dr Mahathir wanted to make it appeared that the opposition would abolish the GST and would replace it with SST instead, in which the rate was not informed to the buyers to garner votes.

“Is this not a lie? Under the SST system, it is not necessary for sellers to declare the amount of tax in the receipt.

“So they can charge tax on different rates without being detected by the enforcement agency, and the people will not realise they are still being taxed even if GST is abolished. But with GST the sellers must be transparent in stating the total amount is at six per cent,” he explained.


This is NOT about whether BN or Pakatan has been right but about the good of GST for the country. Pakatan knows GST is good but attacks it for no other reason than to gain brownie points, after which (ie. if it wins GE-14) it will adopt the GST. 

Please read what I wrote in Very Fake News on Kembung-Kerang? i which I penned:

The poor GST has been innocently blamed for the rise in a non-GST-ed item, namely fresh food including fresh fish.

Since the news involve a Malay family, the clever fake news apportioning nonsensical blame to the GST for the rise in raw ikan kembung price must go to a Malay political party.


Who is it then?


  • PKR (don't be mistaken that PKR is none other than a Malay political party)?
  • Pribumi?
  • PAS?


HY, don't blame the DAP as it's a Chinese-Indian party and very few Malay families listen to it, wakakaka.

The Malaysian Insight's article said:

Another factor has been fluctuating petrol prices. Prior to the GST, kembung or Indian mackerel, fetched around RM8 per kilo at the market.

Why prior to GST? Raw Ikan kembung is NOT GST-ed so prior to or post GST, the fish is still not GST-ed. Stop f**king bullshitting.


Indian mackeral is a real (not fake) fish 

In the past year, the price of kembung, the fish that sets the benchmark for other types of fish, has fluctuated between RM16 and RM22 per kilo throughout the country, causing consumers to adjust their diets besides buying less. [...]

Let me see how we can blame the GST?

Noting that the hike in prices not just for fish but for seafood overall, Siti Zahara who is anaemic said she often buys cockles when the dizziness gets the best of her but has also cut down on that of late.

“The doctor advised me to eat cockles or liver (as an iron supplement) because of my anaemic condition.

Before GST, cockles cost about RM4 per kilo. Now it’s about RM10. So, I buy half a kilo. You can imagine how little that is when cooked.”



Well, I have to say there is a '6' there (a la 6% GST?), but the news has the '6' as a difference between a so-called pre-GST kerang at RM4 to a post-GST kerang at RM10, though again there is no GST on cockles.


How bullshit has been the news.


Even if there is (and to reiterate, there is no GST on kerang), 6% of RM4 only amounts to a round figure of 25 sen. But the point is how fake news have (deliberately?) exaggerated the impact of GST on a non-GST-ed item, to wit, from RM4 to a staggering RM10.


The fake news could only be described as highly mischievous or even evil. Very unscrupulous lah!


I am aware that The Malaysian Insight was previously The Malaysian Insider but really, the Editor should have exercised a bit more prudence and discern what is correct news and what is obviously bullshit.



10 comments:

  1. Setiausaha Agung DAP, Lim Guan Eng mengulangi pendirian parti itu agar Cukai Barang dan Perkhidmatan (GST) dihapuskan bagi mengurangkan beban dialami rakyat kebelakangan ini.
    Dalam perutusan sempena sambutan Aidilfitri, beliau berkata, GST yang diperkenalkan pada 1 April 2015 dengan kadar piawai sebanyak 6% telah menjadi beban utama rakyat Malaysia ditambah dengan ekonomi yang lembab.
    “Keadaan ekonomi kita yang kian meruncing, kenaikan harga barangan asas serta bebanan GST, menjadikan sambutan Hari Raya tahun ini lebih mencabar terutamanya bagi golongan berpendapatan rendah dan makan gaji kerana wang untuk dibelanja tidak mencukupi.”

    its not cny, so the target audience is clearly malay, is the above view sort of fake news?

    ReplyDelete
  2. dengan adanya GST, SST secara automatis telah dihapuskan. Olih karena GST hanya 6% dan kadang2 SST merupakan 10%, ini bermakna pada amnya, harga banyak barang2 seharusnya di kurangkan yang mengakibatkan beban ongkos yang lebih kecil bagi rakyat

    suatu ciri gst ialah 'siapa yang consume, dia perlu bayar' - ta'ada orang yang consume dapat elakkan cukai. ini sebab effektiv gst

    ReplyDelete
  3. 'ini bermakna pada amnya, harga banyak barang2 seharusnya di kurangkan'

    (harga) barang apa yg turun? yg selalu turun hanya air hujan & susu getah.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. barang yg dulu dikenakan 10% SST memang harganya sekarang dikurangkan 4%

      Delete
    2. nilai ringgit turun, harga condo dan rumah kat penang lepas banjir turun, harga kereta turun 3% kemudian naik balik 13%. kos kt cuti di msia turun.

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  4. Semua old school arguments about taxation aka how to squeeze more money to fill up the deplecting government coffer due to fiscal mis-management!!

    Can come up with something out of the box ke?

    Before GST, SST was the rage of the nations to fill the coffer. Then GST is been put on the altar as the next best thing to toilet paper to get the necessary money!

    Ain't u all forgetting about the purposes of taxation?

    To benefit the people of the country! Not the kleptocratic top dogs le.

    Iff a government is well managed, then a minimum tax income WOULD be able to balance the book! Most likely coming from the income tax of the rich.

    'siapa yang consume, dia perlu bayar' ignores the fact that if u r poor & only be able to make do with the daily necessities, then GST is a BIG strain to one's basic spending budget.

    Zero rated articles r misnomers as they assumed that items r magically appearing on the table from source w/o 3rd parties input. Once these 3rd parties input r included then, like it or not, GST will get involved!

    Don't go into looping argument lah! Go & study Tobin tax for a start lah.

    As paper profit manipulation via creactive speculation in finance provides the largest margin in business. It's non physical, as in manufacturing, just imaginary finance acrobat. It SHOULD be taxed kaux2. The return would be billions of tax money. & yet most of the big players r using tax loopholes to avoid paying these taxes!

    There r individuals/companies in bolihland doing the same le.

    Start with them lah!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you ignore 2 important points

      1) the bell curve makes taxing the rich a relatively futile effort for the nation

      2) more than 160 nations have GST - only you want to go back to the days of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) - wakakaka

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    2. The wealth bell curve implies in the true Gaussian distribution ALSO indicates that >85% of the world wealth is controlled by the <5% of the superrich.

      So, what futility is in yr mind??

      The social welfare system of the Western developed nations has been well served by taxing the rich, mind u heavily, until crooked accountants come up with taxholes manipulation to crumpled that system. In between, there r tongkat dependents also milking the system to frustrate the tax paying rich.

      A new paradigm switch in taxation mechanism is needed.

      GST is one of the more popular one. But popularity DOESN'T imply infallibility! At most it's the easiest short-term way out of a entangling catch.

      Many of the 160 countries r still can't balance their fiscal budget using GST. Currently, another way out is to increase the quantum rate.

      Where does that leave to? GST of > 20% will grind any economies to the ground!

      Thus, the answer to yr Q2.

      BTW, out of box new taxation mechanism is going backward????

      Walau-eh...where do u learn yr taxation idea so much so that u r thick into the GST chasm that u don't see the forest for the tree.

      What a thick head!!!

      Delete