Cuepacs calls for more tax relief

PETALING JAYA: Cuepacs, the civil service employees union, has urged the government to provide for more income tax relief in the budget proposals for 2018.

Speaking to FMT, Cuepacs president Azih Muda said many taxpaying civil servants were struggling to keep up with the rising prices of goods and services.

He acknowledged a finance ministry statement that the government would not increase taxes, but he said the GST remained a burden to many.

“The government has collected a lot of money from GST,” he said. “So we hope tax relief measures will be reviewed in this coming budget.

“The government must take into consideration that the cost of medicine is high. It must also consider how many children a household has to send to school as well as think about taxpayers whose wives are not working.”

Azih has raised such concerns before. In a meeting with finance ministry officials last July, he congratulated the government for its success with GST and said it was now appropriate for it to reduce the tax burden of civil servants. He suggested tax deductions for those with school going children and those who were taking care of their parents.

In January, Deputy Finance Minister Othman Aziz was quoted as saying that the government collected RM41 billion through GST last year and expected to increase the amount to RM42 billion this year.

Last Friday, a news report quoted Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani as saying that the government had no intention of imposing additional taxes and that Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also finance minister, would look into measures to mitigate the burden of the cost of living.

Budget 2018 is scheduled to be tabled on October 27. -FMT