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The Prime Minister Should Remove PLUS’ Twin Benefits Of A Tax-Exempt Status And The Waiver Of Interest Payment For The RM 1.65 Billion Government Loan To PLUS Press Statement by Lim Guan Eng (Petaling Jaya, Monday): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should remove the twin benefits of Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan(PLUS) tax-exempt status and the waiver of interest payments for the RM 1.65 billion government loan to PLUS. PLUS’ refusal to defer the 10% toll increase from 1.1.2005 has resulted in PLUS making an additional RM 154 million in profits for 2005.  By focusing more on profits than public interests and more on responsibility to its investors than corporate social responsibility, the time has come to remove some of  PLUS’ benefits. Amongst the principal benefits that should be removed are the exemption of all tax payments for 5 years from 2002-6, traffic volume guarantees, loan guarantees for commercial loans taken out by PLUS and waiver of interest payments to the government for the RM 1.65 billion loan.  PLUS recorded a profit for RM 736 million in 2003 and is expected to make a profit for RM 760 million in 2004. Due to the 10% toll hike, PLUS’ profits in 2005 is expected to spike to M 937 million. Instead of collecting 28% of all these billion ringgits in profits as taxes, the country and 25 million Malaysians affected by the 10% toll hike will not get anything from PLUS’ increased profits as PLUS has been granted tax exemption status and waiver of payment interest for its government’s loan.   Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah has disappointed Malaysians by ignoring their protests and refusing to intervene to stop the toll hikes. The Prime Minister should try to partially redeem himself for his inaction by rolling back some of these favours granted to PLUS that are clearly not in the public or in the national interest.  Why should PLUS be granted tax exemption status when they only give lip service to the concept of corporate social responsibility? This is contrary to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir’s assertions that it is good for the country that companies make money as the country can collect 28% of the companies’ profits in taxes. With such tax exemptions to PLUS, Tun Mahathir’s reasoning is clearly flawed and false.  PLUS 10% toll hike also proves that the previous opposition of BN MPs is a mere “sandiwara” and that they only publicly oppose what they secretly support inside BN. Further, the government‘s “zero inflation” campaign has lost all credibility when it can allow and justify the 10% toll hike. The government has no moral authority to stop price increases when it can allow a 10% toll hike to a company already making nearly RM 800 million annually.  For the government to allow PLUS  to increase toll rates with such high profits after recording a huge mandate in the 2004 general elections is not just irresponsible but also not in the interests of 25 million Malaysians. As BN can claim that the huge mandate gained in the 2004 general elections showed approval for such toll hikes, the only recourse left is for the people to register their protest in the next general elections. (3/1/2005) * Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General