I am not a happy man. I've just finished filing my income tax (thanks to my tax consultant), and as usual, found out that I need to fork out a large sum of money to top up the amount already auto-deducted from my hard-earned salary. It just irks me knowing what I'm paying will go mostly towards subsidising and maintaining other people's life-styles, most of whom -- in absolute terms -- are much better off than me.
It is just so bloody unfair! What to do, says my consultant, it's the way the system works. People like me would just fall through the cracks where not a morsel of benefit from the government's scheme of things trickles through. This year, I will pay more zakat instead. At least I have an idea where the money will go to.
It is just so bloody unfair! What to do, says my consultant, it's the way the system works. People like me would just fall through the cracks where not a morsel of benefit from the government's scheme of things trickles through. This year, I will pay more zakat instead. At least I have an idea where the money will go to.
April is always a stressful month for me, and I guess for a lot of other people, too. Macamana tak stressnya, your income tax returns are due the end of the month. If you are a person as disorganised as I am, inilah masanya you nak cari all those receipts that'll entitle you to exemptions -- you know, resit beli buku, resit keraian, your insurance covers, etc etc. And some of these receipts have their own way of disappearing, although through no fault of theirs. Normally you would put them in a safe place so that come March or April, you could just take them out, neatly bundled, for LHDN purposes. But usually your safe place is so safe not even you could find it.
The thing is, however, even if you could find all your receipts, would they really matter? How much would they really "contribute" towards your total exemption? Not much. This is where I get quite worked up, sometimes, with our income tax structure.
You see, I'm a middle income single professional. Of what I make each year, 27% or so (and that's almost one-third of my hard-earned salary) would go to LHDN, purportedly to contribute towards the running of the country and all the benefits or services the government of the day would provide for me and my fellow Malaysians. But in reality, career-driven single people like me always get the worst end of the deal. Who can tell me, really, what kind of benefits or services the government spoons out (and we are talking teeny-weeny tea spoons here) for people like me?
Yeah. Well. Not much, kan? I think it's time that the government appreciated and thought more of people like me. Those who make slightly more money than the average poor, yet not enough to be rich. We need tax breaks, too, just like the married average income earner with five kids. After all, we pay for almost everything else, at full prices. We pay for our (overpriced) cars because public transport is crappy, we pay to watch television because free-to-air (are they really free?) stations are lousy, we pay to use the roads and highways, we pay road tax yet the roads that I take to work remain ridden with potholes. Our public amenities are in horrible state or almost non-existent, our counter services are a nightmare. I mean, give me something in return for that 27% that I return to the government. Something that I can enjoy during whatever little free time I'm not slaving away to earn money to go into my pocket and LHDN's. Not too much to ask, I think.
April 1. Well, today is as good as any, I suppose, to start a blog. The date itself doesn't mean anything (although a lot of fools are usually outed today), but 01.04.06 does look good, almost auspicious, don't you think? And I do feel good today, after spending the weekend with visiting family members who I had not seen for a while, playing catch up with them, to find out who's doing what (and with whom)and getting to know the latest addition to the clan, either by or through marriage. Well, you know, kalau dah lama tak jumpa tu, macam-macam ceritalah yang dapat dikongsi. Seronok jugak.
Family reunions are always a happy occasion for me, until family members start asking questions and poking their noses into business that's not theirs. Well, you know, the one million-dollar question: "When are you settling down?" The question is never asked by close family members. It's always those who don't really know you that ask a lot of questions -- your second cousins la, anak dua pupu la, pakcik sepupu la.... And if you're a guy past your thirties, they're going to wonder: "Kenape ek dia ni tak nak kawin-kawin lagi? Umor dah lanjut, kereta ada, keje OK, rumah OK, tapi wife takde..." And those with active and fertile imagination would speculate (although in a hush-hush, private kind of way): "Hmm, maybe he has been hurt before; or maybe he's got some secret girl-friend stashed away somewhere; maybe he's just not interested; or maybe he's (oh, God forbid, don't say it) gay...?"
Family reunions are always a happy occasion for me, until family members start asking questions and poking their noses into business that's not theirs. Well, you know, the one million-dollar question: "When are you settling down?" The question is never asked by close family members. It's always those who don't really know you that ask a lot of questions -- your second cousins la, anak dua pupu la, pakcik sepupu la.... And if you're a guy past your thirties, they're going to wonder: "Kenape ek dia ni tak nak kawin-kawin lagi? Umor dah lanjut, kereta ada, keje OK, rumah OK, tapi wife takde..." And those with active and fertile imagination would speculate (although in a hush-hush, private kind of way): "Hmm, maybe he has been hurt before; or maybe he's got some secret girl-friend stashed away somewhere; maybe he's just not interested; or maybe he's (oh, God forbid, don't say it) gay...?"
It is rather amusing to see sometimes they make their own conclusion: "Oh, he is so busy with work he doesn't have the time to date! Let's match-make him!" Years ago, they would always have someone's anak dara who'd be perfect for you. After you've reached a certain age, they'd think of some young janda beranak satu to be your match...
But I suppose that's how it goes. Family members, no matter how far removed they are, would always have their concern, especially in matters relating to the survival of the clan. It's unthinkable to them that you can be happy and extremely contented on your own. That you can find your bliss and kebahagiaan in so many other ways and places...
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