The thing about Budgets nowadays (as opposed to a few years back) is how the real proposals are actually way back in appendices instead of the speech. What you end up with is a main body of the speech that conjures a truckload of fairy-telling about how the people’s suffering is being addressed by sophisticated sounding words like “pillars” or “corridors”.
Anyway, that’s just my observation.
I don’t intend to repeat what will undoubtedly be covered in the national dailies anyway. So, here are my seven by seven pointers for this year’s (pretty subdued) nonsensical budget…
- Those of you earning less than five figures are screwed!
- Because those who ARE earning that (and way more) are gonna be taxed at the same top bracket as you are.
- They will also be holding APs for hybrid cars that will screw Proton over so hard, their exhaust pipes will crack probably sell better than normal cars given their zero import tax and 50% discount on excise duty.
- Oh, and then AP holder’s sugar-daddies can come and pump maybe a few billion Euros to their hybrid-techno-developho-kids via venture capital companies because these companies get… (let me hear it)… Gimme a Tax! Gimme an Ex! Gimme an Emp! Gimme the Ssssshern!
- Now, once daddy’s money ventures over to their sons’ and/ or sons-in-law’s already overflowing bank accounts, how about another freebie? No pay 5% tax on bank interest.
- You heard me. Nadda. Zip. Comprande?
- What’s more… yes, there’s more for the rich… You know how those rich bastards they tend to get travelling allowances, Blackberries, private schooling and nannies for their kids, phone bills, hospital bills, acupuncture treatments, spa therapies (and the list doesn’t seem to end in one page)… all paid for by their companies? Guess what? Uhuh. That’s right.
Now, for the less endowed…
- Those earning RM3,500 and below will save 50 ringgit next year to pay for their one pump of diesel at the gas station.
- Because for the same priced road tax, Proton has to bend over and lower their pant-dana’s again who wouldn’t want cars that run on a cheaper fuel?
- That’s 50 ringgit for the entire year. Because 400 minus 350 is 50. Ya’ll still with me?
- If you divide that by 365 days, that’s just under 14 sen of savings per day. Can’t buy shit, did I hear you say? (Was there some lowering of import duty for “baja” for that matter?)
- You could try to eek out RM20 if you make your own fire instead of switching on the light at nights.
- Good news is, they also promise us decent public transportation by 2014. We’ll need it. Know why?
- Because by then, our kingmaker states would have run outta oil and our cars would be display units at the junk museum. Or still in queue at Puspakom, whichever.
As for the majority of us who fit in between those two extremes. Nothing. Because the rest of the national coffers goes far east to make kingmakers happy. With that, I bid y’all a Happy Merdeka weekend.
