OPPOSITION states should compete to boost their respective economies and not accuse the Federal Government of ‘preying’ on them.
Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli said the opposition unjustly accused the Federal Government of collecting taxes from the people of the states they administer, but never returned it as allocations for development.
"The Federal Government has been accused of being so mean … even Pasir Puteh MP Datuk Dr Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh challenged PAS to be allowed to collect Kelantan's own taxes," he said in a post on X today.
“If Kelantan were allowed to collect its own taxes, would their development problems be resolved … will the Kota Bharu (KB) Sentral bus station be completed? Will the water problems be resolved?
"How much is the estimated tax collection from Kelantan now being collected by the Federal Government?" he asked.
Rafizi stressed that the taxes collected by the Federal Government are business and individual income taxes; or sales taxes related to business activities.
"If the Kelantan government does not succeed in creating an investment-friendly business environment and good, high-paying job opportunities, it is not certain that the state government will be able to bring prosperity to the people.
"Even if they collect taxes themselves under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, it may not be enough to cover the entire development expenditure in Kelantan which is currently borne by the Federal Government," he added.
Perikatan Nasional and PAS are currently leading four state governments, namely Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
Last month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the allocation to Kelantan has increased by 30 per cent to RM762 million last year compared to RM588 million in 2023.
Meanwhile, the allocation to Terengganu also recorded a 28 per cent increase to RM2.02 billion last year from RM1.57 billion the previous year. – May 3, 2025
