Why tax rebates for smartphones - not handphones?

Smartphones are expensive and thus it is only the 'richer' that can afford to get them, compared to handphones which most people can afford. So, why not tax rebate for handphones.....which more people can benefit...Is this move, not unlike that BN practice of giving all kinds of tax rebates, tax holidays to the rich and the corporations....

But, then why tax rebates for smartphones...or even handphones - is is a 'bribe' for Malaysian's votes...Certainly, this move would have helped all those companies selling 'smartphones' for many Malaysians would have bought 'smartphones' just to take advantage of this tax rebate...

There are a lot of priority areas - like keeping the cost of basic food items down, like keeping the cost of communication and transportation down.... A good government would not have wasted money with tax rebates for smartphones...

I believe that our primary concern should always be for the poor, oppressed and marginalized....and certainly owners of 'smartphones' do not fall in that category...

34% of Malaysian workers earned less than RM700 per month

A further 37% nationwide earned between RM700 and RM1,500

63%  of workers in Sabah earned less than RM700

48%  of workers in Sarawak earned less than RM700

 

So, who really can afford to buy these smartphones....?  And benefit from this tax rebate....RM300 million of the people's money can be better spent

Cabinet scraps RM500 cap for phone rebate

8:01PM Jan 2, 2013

The cabinet has scrapped the plan to limit the smartphone rebate scheme to handsets which retail at RM500 and below following public pressure to do so.

According to Bernama, this was announced by the the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) today.

Previously, MCMC chairperson Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi was forced to defend the RM500 cap against stinging criticism from netizens on various online forums.

He said that the cap was necessary because it was intended only for low-income earners.

The scheme is open to Malaysians between 21 and 30 years of age and drawing a salary of RM3,000 and below.

Putrajaya has allocated RM300 million for the scheme, which means that 1.5 million people can apply for the scheme on a first-come-first-served basis.

Those eligible applicants can apply for the rebate online through MCMC’s website. At the time of writing, the website is not accessible.

In an earlier statement, MCMC announced that about 5,500 people have applied since online registrations went live yesterday.- Malaysiakini