THE people have spoken, and while I do not agree with the demand for a lower Goods and Services Tax (GST), I am more than willing to add my voice to the call for higher wages for everyone in the public and private sector.

And for those calling for lower personal taxes with the introduction of the GST, it did happen in 2014. At the same time, we have seen a so-called tiered tax discount scheme for companies based on revenue introduced in this year’s budget, announced last October.

But before I go further, I would put it to the government that this call would have been quieter if one former chairman of the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) had kept his mouth shut.

In his dim-witted wisdom in selling a political message, Tan Sri Annuar Musa came out in a viral video condemning the BNM forex scandal, saying that the loss of RM32 billion back in 1997 is valued at RM100 billion in today’s currency.

If that is the case, then the rate he is mentioning is this – a 1997 Malaysian Ringgit is equivalent to RM3.125 in 2017.

At this given rate by Annuar Musa, I would now ask employers – especially our Finance Ministers – has wages gone up at the same rate?

Has it even gone up to such a rate for the civil service, since the government is willing to leave the private sector alone?

I seriously doubt this. In fact, I would think there are some senior executives taking that rate and calculating their current wage and looking back at their wages in 1997, and noticing that the actual growth to their salaries is a lot less than they thought at first.

And now, back to the crux of the matter.

Wages have not gone up incrementally to tally with expenditure. The government needs to make its mind up on this matter – you can’t ask people to make ends meet with their low incomes, and then tell them to have more babies to avoid a decline in population growth.

At the same time, having families get a mere RM1,000 tax deduction for a child up to 6 years old to encourage them to breed more, is ludicrous.

There is a huge reason why millennials are grumbling about the cost of living and even the cost of tax, and it is because the amount received today has not gone up much compared to when those who started work a decade ago joined the workforce.

My first paycheque out of college was RM2,170. So far, I have heard that even now - 12 years after me joining the fray – this still seems a large amount for some who start working at executive levels.

Some undergraduates have even begun to consider it lucky to earn a meagre RM2,500 as a starting salary in Kuala Lumpur, but must also have their own transport with a mileage claim that is ridiculous or capped.

With that in mind, the demands for higher wages are legitimate and should be considered seriously, perhaps with the proper introduction of a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), even for executives.

On the plus side, there seems to be companies that are increasing wages. The MIDF Research report for retail sales dated September 13 mentions a “positive spill over” from external trade activities saw wage growth in the manufacturing sector up by 11.3% year-on-year, with an increase in employment of 2.9%, earlier in July.

Of course, we could then ask the question of whether that increase in the sector was from locals or migrant workers coming into the job market.

So yes – by all means, increase wages in the public sector, encourage the private sector to give more to their employees perhaps by slashing the corporate tax and raising the minimum wage yet again.

At the same time, an introduction of unemployment insurance would be great in case of future retrenchments if certain sectors collapse, which by now it looks like a residential and commercial property bubble.

 Also, reintroduce the inheritance tax for those for anyone with assets over RM15 million to the tune of 10%, it would barely make a dent in their wealth and the country would have created a new revenue stream. Similarly, a capital gains tax on individuals rather than unit trusts and hedge funds such as the EPF and retirement schemes would be ideal.

But I would tell people not to worry, because there is no way the government will introduce more taxes this year. In fact, I am personally expecting that this upcoming budget announcement will be a “diabolically sweet” one to appease the masses with an upcoming general election on the books.

So be calm, and expect lower taxes and everything else, but be warned that there will be cuts in government expenditure to reflect the lesser cash flow. – September 15, 2017.

* Hafidz loves to ruffle feathers and believes in the EA Games tag line of challenging everything. Most times, he represents the Devil’s Advocate on multiple issues.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.