80% of families earning under RM3,000 hardest
hit by GST, says PKR Youth
About 80% of families in Malaysia who earn less than
RM3,000 have been hit the hardest by the goods and
services tax (GST), having to fork out at least an extra
RM100 a month, PKR Youth said today.
This was
why they were organizing a May 1 rally, intended as a
"signal" from the people that they rejected the GST,
which has severely affected the lower income group, the
wing said.
"The Barisan Nasional leadership
should hear the cries of the people who have given a 52%
mandate to Pakatan Rakyat," PKR Youth exco Fasyarini
Azahari said in a statement today.
"The people feel the effects of the tax directly while
the rich and the elite are not affected by the
implementation of the GST. According to research, low-
and middle-income earners are still the biggest group in
the country and in fact have to be given priority by the
government." |
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Fasyarini, who is PKR Youth Labour Bureau chief, also
said that the people were being squeezed by the leakages
and extravagant spending of the government while the GST
had been forced on the rakyat as a form of tax to pay
for the greed of those in power.
"The rising cost of living without any monitoring and
supervision by authorities has forced us fight the
injustice of it all. The GST is a form of a greedy tax
that has burdened the people of Malaysia.
"Low-
and middle-income earners, retirees, senior citizens and
students are the hardest hit following the increase of
prices because of the implementation of the GST," she
added.
The GST, said Fasyarini, was a form of
consumption tax and its implementation was wider than
the previous sales and services tax. She added that the
explanation given to the people had no impact as the
rakyat failed to understand what the levy really meant.
"They understood that a 6% tax would be imposed on
several goods and services but after the GST was
implemented, all goods and services have been charged
with the tax," she said.
"The May 1 anti-GST rally, held together with Labour Day
celebrations, will be a signal from the people
especially workers who reject the implementation of the
tax that has really been a form of persecution to those
from the lower income group."
PKR Youth's #KitaLawan movement had previously announced
that it would again take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur
on May 1, adding the GST to their list of causes.
The movement's secretariat said the consumption tax
which was implemented on April 1, should open people's
eyes to how oppressive the tax was on low-wage earners
and the jobless. – April 16, 2015.
Source:
The Malaysian Insider
, dated
16/04/2015 |
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