80% of families earning under RM3,000 hardest hit by GST, says PKR Youth

Those who earn less than RM3,000 per month are the most affected by the goods and services tax (GST), says PKR Youth. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, April 16, 2015.

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 organising 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."

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.

- TMI