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MCA Should Act Decisively And Not Backtrack On The Basic Principle That Non-Profit Associations Managing Chinese Cemeteries Should Not Be Imposed Taxes Press Statement by Lim Guan Eng (Melaka, Sunday): Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen’s statement today that not all Chinese cemeteries should enjoy automatic exemption from income tax is indecisive, disappointing and unfair. MCA should act decisively and not backtrack (yu rou guo tuan) on the basic principle that non-profit associations managing Chinese cemeteries should not be imposed taxes.   MCA must realize the reason the Chinese community are unhappy with the attempt to collect taxes is why only now when there were no such taxes in the past. Are such efforts to collect taxes also imposed on cemeteries from other communities or other religions?  Datuk Dr Ng should find the answer to this question before the dialogue with the Chinese associations next week and explain to avoid any accusations of double-standards.   Datuk Dr Ng’s statement that some taxes can be collected from Chinese cemeteries appears to justify and even side with the Internal Revenue Board’s decision to collect taxes from Chinese cemeteries. It is disappointing that Datuk Dr Ng has made this decision even before having a dialogue or joint meeting with all affected parties or hearing from Chinese associations why they should be exempted from income taxes.   How then can Chinese associations or Chinese cemeteries expect Datuk Dr Ng to be sympathetic when even before the meeting she has already sided with the Internal Revenue Board? If Datuk Dr Ng is fair she should at least listen to all views first before coming out with such a statement prejudicial to the rights of the Chinese cemeteries.   DAP stresses that the furore over the taxing of Chinese cemeteries should not have arisen in the first place. There must be a Malaysian solution by declaring all cemeteries run by a management that are non-profit in nature should not be imposed taxes. In handling this controversy Datuk Dr Ng should be based on three principles:- Are Muslim cemeteries imposed such taxes? If they are not, then why are Chinese cemeteries required to pay taxes. If Muslim cemeteries are imposed such taxes, then there should be an amendment to the law that exempts all cemeteries that are non-profit-based from being taxed; and Chinese Cemeteries that are run commercially should be taxed but those that are not and run by Chinese associations should be declared non-profit organisations. Datuk Dr Ng appears confused by saying that some activities of Chinese cemeteries should be taxed even though they are non-profit in nature when the basic principle should be that non-profit organizations should not pay tax.   MCA should demonstrate that it is “the master/mistress of the house” (dang zhia yew dang zhien) by endorsing these three basic principles. The Chinese community will never accept that the Chinese cemeteries that have never been taxed in the past will be required to pay tax. Since history, the only way to avoid tax is death. The idea of being forced to pay taxes on Chinese cemeteries run by ancestral Chinese organizations is not only unjust and unfair but also disrespectful to the dead. (17/10/2004) * Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General