'Tak bayar cukai, tak boleh undi', pengundi hantu bayaq cukai kah...

Cadangan menghalang rakyat Malaysia yang bekerja di luar negara dan tidak membayar cukai daripada mengundi adalah tidak mengikut perlembagaan, kata kumpulan pendesak reformasi pilihan raya, BERSIH 2.0.

Dalam satu kenyataan media, jawatankuasa pemandu BERSIH 2.0 berkata cadangan SPR itu tidak mengambil kira peruntukan dalam perlembagaan persekutuan yang menyatakan dengan jelas bahawa setiap warganegara mempunyai hak untuk mengundi dalam mana-mana pilihan raya.

"Ramai rakyat yang menetap di dalam negara juga tidak membayar cukai juga ... Pesara juga ramai yang tidak membayar cukai pendapatan dan mereka yang berpendapatan kurang daripada RM2,500 juga tidak perlu membayar apa-apa cukai pendapatan.

"Adakah kita akan mengecualikan semua mereka sebagai pengundi juga?" petik kenyataan itu.

Menurut jawatankuasa pemandu itu Akta Cukai Pendapatan 1967 menetapkan bahawa pendapatan yang diperolehi daripada sumber-sumber di luar Malaysia adalah dikecualikan daripada cukai.

Justeru, BERSIH 2.0 berpendapat tindakan SPR yang tidak berperlembagaan adalah cubaan melucutkan hak mereka yang layak untuk mengundi.

Isnin lalu, pengerusi SPR Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof  berkata Amerika Syarikat mempunyai sistem yang sama yang hanya membenarkan warganya yang bekerja di luar negara dan membayar cukai untuk mengundi.

Katanya, hak mengundi hanya perlu diberikan kepada rakyat Malaysia yang menyumbang kepada negara dan pulang ke negara dari semasa ke semasa.

Bersih 2.0 slams EC's 'no tax, no vote' proposal

Election reforms pressure group Bersih 2.0 said the Election Commission’s (EC) proposal to bar non-tax paying Malaysian expatriates from voting was unconstitutional.

In a statement today, the Bersih 2.0 steering committee said the EC’s proposal ignored provisions in the federal constitution which clearly states that every citizen has the right to vote in any election.

“Many Malaysians who live in Malaysia do not pay tax as well... Many retirees do not pay income tax and those who earn less than RM2,500 do not pay any income tax.

“Are we going to exclude them as voters as well?” read the statement.

The steering committee also pointed to the Income Tax Act 1967, which stipulates that income derived from sources outside of Malaysia are exempted from income tax.

In view of these two legal arguments, Bersih 2.0 said that the EC was mounting an unconstitutional attempt to disenfranchise those eligible to vote.

EC keen on only ‘two-and-a-half proposals’

On Monday, EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof told said the United States had a similar system which only allowed its expatriates to vote should they be taxpayers. He explained that voting rights should only be accorded to Malaysians who contribute to the country and return home periodically.

These were among the EC’s proposals to the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reforms. The EC is currently hammering out details for a set of reforms following the PSC’s preliminary report on possible electoral reforms. Abdul Aziz said the reforms should be ready by March.

The PSC was established by the Najib Abdul Razak administration soon after the Bersih 2.0 rally  in July last year. The PSC has been holding a series of public hearings throughout the country to source for feedback.

Meanwhile, Bersih 2.0 said that the EC has thus far only accepted “two and a half out of eight” of its demands, which it said was an indication of the commission’s lack of will.  Its steering committee said the EC must act independently and fulfil its constitutional duties to ensure free and fair elections if it truly intends to gain the confidence of all Malaysians.

“Bersih 2.0 reminds the EC that it is not answerable to any political master but to ALL citizens of Malaysia,” read the statement.

source:malaysiakini

“No Taxation without Representation” is different from 

“No Representation without Taxation”

The Election Commission (EC) has sparked outrage with the idea that Malaysians abroad can’t vote if they don’t pay taxes in Malaysia, in a rather perverse twist of the “No Taxation without Representation” revolt that brought United States of America its independence in 1776. 

Perhaps a lesson in English for the EC, “No Taxation without Representation” is different from “No Representation without Taxation” as the ideas come from opposing forces. 

The right to vote is a fundamental right for all citizens of an eligible age. It doesn’t matter if they don’t pay tax. If so, a lot of civil servants can’t vote and Barisan Nasional (BN) might be in the opposition bench already. 

Let’s get every eligible citizen to vote, not find ways to stop them from exercising that right. And for the record, the US allows all citizens to vote.- Jahabar Sadiq.

source:malaysian insider

cheers.