T15 or T20 - Wrong to base on HOUSEHOLD income - Must look at PERSONAL Income? Make it a RIGHT - not just possible aid acoording to whims and fancies of PM/Government?

In Malaysia, we had the B40, M40 and T20 - the problem with this was that it was based on 'HOUSEHOLD' Income, and not personal income.

Household Income previously looked at the family income - father, mother and children. Then, it CHANGED to looking at the whole income of all in a Household(whether related or not). So 8 workers sharing a house earning RM1,000 a month each will translate to a Household Income of RM8,000 a month. If 2 earned RM3,000 and others were unemployed and had no income > this Household Income would be RM6,000 - meaning that aid may not be forthcoming to them unemployed with no earnings 6 individuals.

For helping the POOR - what we need is a determination of the earnings of the INDIVIDUAL - and not the 'Household Income'

How do we do this? One method is the requirement for every adult to submit annually the INCOME TAX form, where they would be required to list in detail their income from wages and other sources of income. Maybe, they should also declare property,shares, unit trust they own - for after all a person can own RM millions in property, and have no regular monthly income - and thus should be disqualified from receipt of any aid from the government. THIS WAY THE GOVERNMENT WILL HAVE A MEANS OF KNOWING WHAT IS THE INDIVIDUAL INCOME - THE INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL POSITION - hence, the ability to HELP who?

WE MUST HELP THE INDIVIDUAL POOR - and not miss out anyone, simply because he stays with other high earning individuals in the same house.

AID should flow to individuals who are poor, and family units that are really poor.

POOR or RICH should not just be looking at monthly incomes - but the totality of wealth that a person has...land, houses, unit trust, fixed deposits, shares, etc..

THAT is the first hurdle that the government needs to overcome >> DETERMINE who are the really POOR and deserves government aid.

SECOND ISSUE - Assistance to the POOR should be a RIGHT according to the LAW. It should not be according to the 'whims and fancies' of the government of the day or the PRIME MINISTER.

There should be a law = that provides a senior citizen(more than 55 years of age) the right to receive at least RM1,500 per month for living expenses. So, the government will determine how much monthly earnings he/she has in reality, and ORDER monthly payments of RM1,500 or less(minus other earnings) for as long as he/she lives. The sum disbursed could be reviewed annually, so that he/she does not get more than he/she needs.

A law that provides the UNEMPLOYED a sum of not more than RM1,500 until he gets new employment. A mechanism to ensure that he/she is actively seeking employment to prevent abuse.

A law for single mothers - 

A law for the provision of nursing care homes for the elderly or others. Nursing care for the elderly run by the private sector comes to about RM3,500 per month. Best if government provides these homes, or pay for the care of these elderly/disabled.

A law for the provision of CARE INCOME for adults who have to stay home to take care of the elderly or young children, hence not being able to enter the job market and even earn the Minimum Wage, - they must be paid at least the Minimum Wage by the government directly.

A law for the provision of RM___ per child to childcare homes, foster parents that take care of orphan and/or abandoned children.

DAY CARE CENTERS for the Elderly/Disabled and/or Children in every town will allow people to leave their old folks or children at such homes, go to work and pick them old folks/children from such government homes - This must be a PRIORITY, and it allows the person stuck in home caring for the elderly/children to go to work and earn an income - that will increase family income. If not, they have to stay at home doing caring work..

When the LAW provides for the right of specified groups of persons to receive a certain defined sum - it is certainly more efficient. COMPARED with aid allocations that can be used by PM or government as and when it pleases.

It must become a RIGHT - and not an uncertain 'hope' that they will get government aid.

SUBSIDIES - we need to ensure FREE EDUCATION and FREE HEALTHCARE for all. For Education, at least until Secondary Education or Vocational/Technical Education end. For University Education too for all Malaysians at any Public Universities in Malaysia. That must be GUARANTEED. So no subsidies or no 'targetted' subsidies here.

After all, the RICH and the VERY RICH usually send their kids to PRIVATE Schools and utilize PRIVATE Healthcare facilities. So, no 'targetted subsidies' for government schools or healthcare facilities - make them all FREE.

Where can you get money? SIMPLE - HIGHER TAXATION for the RICH

2023 income tax rates for residents

Taxable income band MYR	Tax rate
0 to 5,000	0%
5,001 to 20,000	1%
20,001 to 35,000	3%
35,001 to 50,000	6%
50,001 to 70,000	11%
70,001 to 100,000	19%
100,001 to 400,000	25%
400,001 to 600,000	26%
600,001 to 2,000,000	28%
2,000,001+	30%

Non-residents are subject to withholding taxes on certain types of income. Other income is taxed at a rate of 30%.

SOLUTION - Increase TAX RATES for those having Taxable Income of more than $400,000 (Taxable Income is Total Gross Income after deduction of certain items)

100,001 to 400,000	25%
400,001 to 600,000	30%
600,001 to 1,000,000	40%
2,000,001+	50%

In short, increase TAX rate - for those earning more than RM400,000 to 30%, For those earning more than RM600,000 to 40%, For those earning more than RM1 million to 45%, For those earning more than RM2 million to 50%, For those earning more than RM5 million to 60%.

This is the right way, and the HIGHER TAX rates would not trouble the VERY RICH - and, it would earn the government more money to assist the POOR. 

So, why is PRIME MINISTER and Finance Minister not doing this? It is FAIR, and many countries have this.

TARGETTED Subsidies for Diesel/Petrol - it should also not just be how poor they are - but also HOW expensive their cars is. For those owning cars above RM60,000, they should not be subsidized...because they could very well buy a Proton or Malaysian car..

When removing subsidies for FUEL, what the government should have been doing was making available AFFORDABLE Public Transport - Busses, Trains, Taxis, Motor-bike Taxis, etc >>> and Public Transport like Busses will only work if the DISTANCE that a person has to walk from home/workplace/etc is NO further than 500 meters. If it is more than this, you can forget it - to ask Malaysians to walk kilometers to get to a bus stop in rain and shine is impossible,

In Thailand, they have Local Council monitored motor-bike taxis, that transport passengers when they get off from LRT/MRT stations to their homes around 1-2 Km away at a reasonable rate. Malaysia should consider this. 

We had the B40, M40 and T20 - so, what nonsense this new T15, so what do we have now > B40,M40,MT5, T15? 

 

Not all T15 are ‘ultra-rich’

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By ARFA YUNUS

• Nation

• Tuesday, 29 Oct 2024

KUALA LUMPUR: Redefine the high-income group now known as the T15 to include only those earning above RM30,000 a month, the Dewan Rakyat has been told.

Sibu MP Oscar Ling made the proposal in response to the government’s plan to withdraw subsidies for petrol, education and public healthcare for those in that category.

He argued that the threshold for defining high-income earners needs to be revised, taking into account the rising cost of living due to inflation.

“I believe the definition of high-income earners should be realigned, and it would be more appropriate if those earning over RM30,000 are classified as such,” he said when debating the Supply Bill 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat here yesterday.

Revise threshold: Ling call for review of T15 definition.He said that current economic conditions, particularly inflation, must be considered when categorising household income groups.

“With the high cost of education in private institutions and rising healthcare costs, categorising those earning below RM30,000 as high-income would place an undue burden on them,” he added.

Ling urged the government to rethink the classification, considering how the high cost of living affects different income brackets, particularly those whose earnings fall just below the RM30,000 mark.

These individuals, he argued, might struggle to cope with educational and healthcare expenses without subsidies.

Ling also said implementation of the minimum wage should be more nuanced across different regions of the country.

The minimum wage is set at RM1,700 but he noted that socioeconomic conditions vary widely between regions, particularly in Sarawak.

“I hope the government will consider the socioeconomic differences between regions when implementing the minimum wage of RM1,700.

“In many parts of Sarawak, there are few economic activities, and enforcing the minimum wage in these areas may lead to higher unemployment as businesses might reduce their workforce to cut costs,” Ling said.

He suggested the government adopt a tiered approach to the minimum wage, with different rates for urban, suburban and rural areas to reflect the unique economic realities of each region.

Revise threshold: Dr Wee call for review of T15 definition.“Malaysia not only has diversity in terms of race and religion but also in socioeconomic conditions that differ significantly across regions,” he said, emphasising the importance of tailored economic policies to ensure they benefit all Malaysians equitably.

On Saturday, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said it is unfair to categorise individuals in the top 15% income group (T15) as “ultra rich” based solely on their household earnings.

Dr Wee, who is also Ayer Hitam MP, said the T15 group includes people who are not millionaires, and some not even particularly wealthy.

“Take, for example, a married couple who are both teachers at the DG48 level, having taught for 15 years, with a combined income of around RM14,000 a month. They own a house, two cars and have three children.

“Similarly, a couple who are both civil servants or PTD officers are also classified as T15 ultra-wealthy. Is this logical?” he asked.

Dr Wee also said those working in statutory bodies or government-linked companies (GLCs), where salaries are typically higher than in the government sector, can also be considered as part of the T15 group.

He said according to the Household Income Survey and Household Income and Expenditure Survey in the open data system by the Statistics Department, as of 2022, T15 starts with a household income of RM13,925 and above. - Star, 29/10/2024