The world does not revolve around taxes, stupid!

More on the Opposition’s Budget for 2009. This time, its PKR’s. As one of my friends put it, “… should do a complete analysis of it” happened to be my agenda for the day. I mean, this is the freaking leader of the Pakatan Rakyat a.k.a. the former globally praised, much decorated Minister of Finance we’re talking about here. Due respect must be given. And we’d better take his proposals seriously. September 16th is just a couple of weeks away. So, I read his Budget 2009. And was surprised.

Well, not a bad surprise. Just surprised. My first impression was, man… if this guy were to table his Budget in Parliament, he’d be spending half that time dissing BN’s Budget. Not that they don’t deserve it, but wouldn’t it be more productive to spend more time with the initiatives to better our livelihood than to dwell on past misdeeds? Let the cops ACA … okay, I guess raising such stuff as part of one’s Budget does have its purpose after all. But then, my point is… Mr. Finance Minister-or-PM-Hopeful should focus the Budget more as a plan for how our hard earned tax ringgits are to be spent for our benefit than as a platform for airing his soon-to-be-predecessor’s dirty laundry.

Okay, that’s number one. Secondly, egoistically or no, I was flabbergasted by the lack of tax driven initiatives. Were there any? Yeah. Two One and a half.

1. Tax rebates for those who export to a certain level (similar to Chinese initiatives)
2. Tax rebates or even direct subsidy to fuel efficient and labor intensive operations to help provide incentives for companies to migrate to more fuel efficient production methods and keeping people on the payroll.

That’s it. The rest of that document talks of open tender systems, removal of FIC requirements (which I totally and wholeheartedly support), fuel price reduction (woohoo!) and sale of AP’s to the highest bidder (Awww… C’mon! Get rid of the whole need for approved permits already and allow the poor average Malaysian a chance to own a Terengganu state car!). Seriously, I’m not really complaining here. Those suggestions are good. They’re echoing somewhat DAP’s Budget brief, but that just goes to show that the opposing side is one minded on transparency and equitable distribution (or at least one hopes that is the case).

What I AM perplexed about was, for all their slamming of the BN’s Budget for not addressing the pathetic purchasing power, low wages and large gap between the poor and rich rakyats, nowhere in the PKR Budget was there a single suggestion to remedy those gaps! To be more specific - Where are all the tax whatchamaycallits that traditionally does all the invisible shoving and pulling of the nation’s socio-economic psyche?! Come on, man…. you’ve been Finance Minister before. You should be able to do this in your sleep! If you were actually listening to the tax industry’s advice on the nation’s needs, you’d realise that it would do the rakyat a great favour, and not to mention prepare the rakyat mentally to accept a broader future tax base, if you were to propose a lowering of the tax rates (at all brackets) and/ or a broadening of tax brackets for individuals so that the middle class (the majority in the taxpaying demographic) don’t end up in the top tax bracket we’re in right now!

Having said that, I must apologise. Maybe the Budget at DSAI’s blog isn’t complete. Its so unlike him to end without a proper conclusion, don’t you think? Maybe there’s more to that after his Point 3.8 “Medium Term Proposals” because I sure as hell didn’t see any medium term proposals in that point at all.

Or maybe I should stop rambling… and start thinking outside the box. Maybe tax isn’t THE tool of choice for national coffers allocation and fiscal manipulation anymore. Maybe that’s why I’m being so sensitive about the whole thing.

P.S. The two tax rebates sound a bit vague to you?