Why and Why Not Telco pass through the 6% service tax?

Since the very first second the announcement was made, every quarters are fuming on the extra burden they should bare if it goes through. Here, it involves everyone in Malaysia, even foreign workers who are mostly prepaid subscribers. On this topic, Finance Malaysia has some words to say.

Picture taken from bigmacky.wordpress.com


In this modern world, mobile phones has become a necessity to us. Some may say: "I can sleep without pillow, or lost my wallet, but I cannot separate from my mobile phone". As such, does it mean that telcos can held you "ransom" on using their services? Since this is called "service tax", did telcos do their part in providing the good services (if not the best)?

3 Reasons why Telcos should not pass through the 6% service tax?

  1. Coverage is suck in certain areas, still. There are rounds of complaints on line-dropping issues. Yup. They fixed it after that. But, the same old problems come back to haunt consumers after awhile.
  2. Customer service is suck. At least, I am using the largest telco's service in Malaysia. But, I did not proud to say that either. Because, the respond to solve my issue is suck.
  3. Crazily high charges. Comparing with neighbor countries, you will found out why Malaysian are labeled as "rich". Even with the "Value Plans" offered, consumers here are still paying high charges, whereby the really rich telcos boost their profit margin by squeezing consumers.


But...
Does telcos need to get the approval from MCMC first? No.
Does telcos obliged to absorb the 6% service tax at the first place? No.
Then, why not telcos pass the extra burden to end users like us? Emm...

Service tax is imposed by government on all services being offered in Malaysia. No sector constrain. No industry constrain. If we're paying 6% service tax on food outlets or shopping malls, why not prepaid or post-paid mobile services? Who is the main beneficiaries from the 6% service tax? Government or Telcos?

Hey Malaysians, YOU got the answer?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Exclusive Interview: 2011 8TV Hot Chef (美食型男) Jason Cha

Image
Dubbed as one of the most handsome guy among the participants of popular 8TV shows Hot Chef ( 美食型男 ), Jason emerged as the ultimate winner, not by his look, but his cooking skills. Since then, he became a familiar face in Malaysia. Did you recognize Jason shopping at Mid Valley lately? In order for us to understand more about him, below are some of the his personal details: Full Name            : Cha Kian Heng Age                      : 34 Hometown           : Ipoh, Perak Status                  : Married Hobby                  : Collecting Thai Amulets Favourite Foods : Italian Pizza with many many cheese Favourite Sports : Badminton Favourite Sportsman : Fernando Torres (football player of Spain and Chelsea currently) The Interview: Q: What makes you decided to join the 8TV's 2011 Hot Ch...
Read more

Career Lessons from Breaking Bad

Image
AMC's Breaking Bad ended with a bang last Sunday, leaving viewers generally content and definitely shell shocked. Though the ride is over, we can finally look back at the series and reflect on how we can learn from both Heisenberg's victories and mistakes. How can a meth kingpin help you and your future careers? Here are some takeaways : 1. Be hard to replace   : Find a specific skill set and make sure you are good enough that nobody can quickly take your place. Whether it be modeling, analysis, writing, communication, or even a certain product with a 99.1% purity, having a specific niche or strength can ensure job security. Just try not to kill fellow associates to eliminate competition. 2. Associate with the right people : If you are the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. Surround yourself with people who you believe can bring out the best in you. Doing business with a high school dropout and drug addict will certainly lead to complications in the fut...
Read more

Things We Now Know

The poor are losing ground in the new Obama world.  The facts are showing up even in the halls of collectivist extremes like the New York Times.  The rich are getting richer and poor are being locked in place.  Big government is throttling the economy and the hopes and dreams of lower and middle class Americans. Today's Wall Street Journal's article by Simon Constable lays out some of the simple and obvious facts of the Obama era: "The richest 20% of households account for 38% of spending, according to government data for 2011, the latest available.  Compare that with 2003 when the top earners spent 26% of the total."  The article goes on to say..."it could get even worse."  It will. Who really benefits when the regulators strangle the banks?  Do banks really need to get much more conservative in their lending practices?  Why does the government know best?  How far can you stretch the FDIC guarantees before American banking is simply a subsid...
Read more