PAS states' taxes might not cover development costs, says Rafizi
KUALA LUMPUR: Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli has hit back at criticism from the opposition, accusing the Federal Government of sidelining the Perikatan Nasional's ruled states by not returning the taxes collected in the states.
He said if the Kelantan state government, for example, can't create an investment-friendly business environment and generate good, high-paying jobs, it may struggle to bring prosperity to the people even if it collects taxes under federal jurisdiction.
Rafizi said those taxes, such as business and individual income taxes, or sales taxes related to business activity, might not be enough to cover the state's development costs, which were currently supported by the federal government.
"That's why it's better for us to compete with our expertise in boosting the economy, rather than playing on sentiments by accusing the federal government of victimising opposition states," he said in an X post, previously known as Twitter.
He also asked how many taxes would be collected in Kelantan if the state government were collecting the taxes currently under the federal government's jurisdiction.
PN and PAS are currently leading four state governments, namely Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
In April, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the federal government's allocations to Kelantan and Terengganu had consistently increased since he took over the government in 2022.
He said Kelantan saw a 30 per cent increase in 2024 allocation to RM762 million from RM588 million in 2023.
Meanwhile, Terengganu's allocations recorded a 28 per cent increase to RM2.02 billion last year from RM1.57 billion the previous year.
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