PETALING JAYA: Goods and Services Tax (GST) will only serve to funnel too much money to the government, said DAP MP Ariff Sabri today.
In a latest blog post at Sakmongkol AK47, Ariff said that it is not wise for the people to allow money collected from GST to be accumulated and kept by a corrupt government.
“We have to face facts that when it comes to the concentration of funds, Barisan Nasional (BN) is not to be trusted, ” he said.
Last year, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced that the government would introduce GST come April 2015, at the rate of six percent.
Many have protested against the new taxation system, claiming it would further burden the rakyat who are already struggling with low wages and high cost of living.
However, the government is adamant on the GST. The GST Bill is currently going through a second reading at the Parliament.
Ariff, who is also a former Umno leader, said that GST may not be good for Malaysia although there are about 160 countries worldwide currently imposing it.
In his argument, Ariff said that the Malaysian government’s financial record was far from being clean, as the administration tends to spend more than what is earned.
“Our track record is bad. The government has wasted so much money by using it out of proportion and this should scare us,” he said.
Ariff added that such behaviour would only stunt the nation’s economic growth and it was best for the money to be in the people’s hands.
“Do not discount the fact that not all 160 nations implementing GST are not corrupt. When funds come in, the objective to reduce the nation’s deficit will be forgotten.
“Soon, wastage will set in and this is what worries the economists. The government can say that such a thing will not happen but their track record speaks otherwise,” he said.
