JULY 6 — Happy hours bring out the best in men when freedom of expression is exercised in an orderly way.

It works wonders on brains, popping out ideas on how to address issues.

Everyone seems to have a solution for everything.

Like how someone suggested recently only voters who pay income tax should be allowed to vote since they were responsible citizens. 

This means denying the rights of millions of other non-paying but taxable registered voters to decide who should administer the government at all levels.

Financial statistics revealed only 2.2 million or 17 per cent of working Malaysians pay income tax out of a workforce of 12 million.

So just 2.2 million personal tax payers to vote and decide the government for a country of nearly 30 million people!

The layman’s argument is the government or specifically the Election Commission (EC) should disallow those taxable individuals who had declined to pay tax by either under-declaring their incomes or not declaring their truthful incomes.

Taxpayers actually are the ones sponsoring the government to carry out all good things for the country, which tax evaders jointly enjoy.

This is unfair to taxpayers.

“Tax evaders are actually crooks and criminals committing fraud and betraying the country.

“Why are criminals allowed to vote like  those who dutifully settle their annual tax dues?” asked a taxpayer.

Another said that denial of voting rights would actually force these “tax frauds” to pay up their dues to the country.

It should make Malaysians more responsible.

When asked what about those who don’t fall under taxable category due to low income, one said: ”Those people can be allowed to vote.”

Hence, their conclusion is that only tax evaders shall be banned from ballot box as a punishment.

But how could so many evade tax?

Poor enforcement and graft were the general answers.

Most concurred the government should axe corrupt IRD officers and replace them with fresh clean ones.

“Once the government starts to sack them, the tax collectors would do their job pofessionally, strictly and correctly,” they said.

Perhaps the IRD lacked manpower to enforce tax laws efficiently and effectively.

But that’s a lame excuse.

The IRD should easily employ more law enforcers.

The government should spend to strengthen and expand manpower.

A businessman said if the government can accumulate, for instance, RM40 billion by spending RM1 billion to deploy more IRD officers, “that’s good business.”

It’s unfair to only come after an individual for some RM2,000 tax due while those who owed millions go scot free.

Perhaps by enforcing the law strictly without fear or favour, the government could have avoided a six per cent goods and services tax (GST).

The rate may have been three per cent or even two.

GST was enforced on April 1 and those who were hostile towards it, have still not accepted it after nearly 100 days.

Now they seem to understand it was important to expand the government revenue net as the country needed new financial mapping to source income and plan expenses.

“GST is good in the long run. But it’s burdening the poor and retirees,” said a management consultant.

Everyone is now paying GST, unlike income tax.

Suggestion was that the government should give more subsidies for the poor and retirees to cushion the impact of GST.

Or the government should give GST exemption by issuing special cards to be used when purchasing goods and services.

But knowing Malaysians, we would then have networks forging and selling the cards in the black market.

The black market operators would have made millions before the law enforcers would even know about it.

By the time the authorities nab some of them and the government implements measures to curb the fraudulent activity, the black ops masters would have left the business and become successful developers in some island.

The best way would be to give cash aid, possibly increasing BR1M payouts, and the government should address the issue in Budget 2016 scheduled to be tabled end of this year.

The government can sustain this cash aid with revenue from Petronas.

As the national petrol company makes billions, the government should fork out a small percentage to help the poor and retirees.

That’s a caring government.

* Athi Shankar is Malay Mail’s Penang bureau chief. He can be reached at athishankar@mmail.com.my.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.