Striking it big in lottery can be irresistible to even a welfare aid recipient
MUKAH: If you will, here’s a quandary to twist your mind around.
A man who is in the bottom 40 per cent (B40) of the Malaysian income bracket receives a government welfare aid (taxpayers’ money) to get him and his family through the month, but he can’t resist buying a lottery ticket or two to try his luck.
“Who knows?” would be his likely reply if you asked him.
Before you condemn him, remember that lottery ticket buyers contribute a certain amount towards the 10 per cent sales tax meant for Sarawak coffers. In fact, the State 2020 Budget states that the government expects to receive a revenue of RM80 million from lottery tickets.
Interestingly, many lottery ticket buyers (cum taxpayers) are people from the low-income group (B40).
The sales tax on lottery ticket was introduced by the state government some years ago, initially at five per cent and later increased to 10 per cent, which remains till today.
The tax is imposed at the point of sales on every RM1 spent at any gambling outlets in Sarawak currently owned by four or so companies including Malaya-based entities.
If a person spends a minimum of RM10, the tax is RM1 for each draw, and if that person buys three times a week, the amount would be RM3.
If that person buys at every draw every week, the monthly tax would be RM12, and if the buying trend continues, it would add up to RM144 annually.
Imagine if the investment per person is RM100 and the number of buyers is 30,000, then the total annual sales tax contributed would also increase correspondingly to RM43.2 million.
The estimate is based on below average figures and excluding special monthly draws introduced by lottery companies.
Whatever the amount and whoever buys lottery tickets, like it or not, that person is contributing to the state’s coffers and directly or indirectly help fellow Sarawakians who do not or never buy lottery tickets.
Last Nov 4 Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg proposed to spend RM9.891 billion under the 2020 State Budget, of which RM6.597 billion would be for development expenditure with RM3.294 for operating expenditure.
The other sources of income streams from which the government expects to receive revenue are crude oil, liquefied natural gas and other petroleum products (RM2.878 billion), crude palm oil and crude palm kernel oil (RM445 million), aluminium (RM58 million) and tyre (RM30 million).
It is learned that the federal government also imposed lottery tax at a rate believed to be five sen of the RM1 price per ticket.
