Well, that’s sure to raise a few eyebrows and quicken a few hear rates.
Mufti of the Federal Territories Zulkifli Mohamad has put forward the doubtlessly uncontroversial idea that Muslim Malaysians should be exempted from paying the Goods and Services Tax (GST) if they’ve already settled their zakat (alms) payments according to Islamic law.
Zulkifli published his suggestion on the Federal Territories Mufti’s official Facebook page last night:
In addition to giving Muslims a pass on the 6% GST, he also urged Putrajaya to lower the tax rate to better match the earning power of the average (non-Muslim) Malaysian worker.
He also called for transparency in the GST’s implementation and enforcement, and said the rakyat were eager to see what their additional tax money would bring about in the country.
Muslims in Malaysia are required to pay zakat at a rate of 2.5% of their annual income. The zakat, collected by the Baitulmal federal agency, is tax deductible.
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