Fresh from his working trip to Japan, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is hopeful that Budget 2011 will include corporate income tax reduction to encourage business in the country.

Malaysia's corporate tax rate currently stands at 25 percent, eight percent higher than neighbouring Singapore's, but five percent lower than Thailand'.

NONE Lim (l eft in photo ) said he hopes Budget 2012 will have tax cuts that follow proposals already made in competing countries like Thailand, where the popular Pheu Thai Party has vowed to reduce taxes from 30 to 23 percent if it wins the July 3 polls.

He said the budget, to be announced by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak at 4pm today, should look after companies that are providing jobs for Malaysians.

"We should make sure we are as competitive as Thailand. In two years' time, we must ensure we can further cut our corporate income tax rate to 20 percent," he told reporters in Penang last night.

The Pheu Thai Party has also proposed to further trim corporate income tax to 20 percent in the year following the election, so Thailand can be on a competitive footing with Singapore and Hong Kong.

  Look into education system call

"However, to help our businesses, we must also look into our education system, especially in the fields of science and technology, there is no substitute for it," Lim said.

He was asked to state his wishlist ahead of the much anticipated budget after attending a dinner organised by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers in Penang last night.

At the press conference, Lim was flanked by FMM president Mustafa Mansur and Penang FMM chairperson Lee Ow Kim, who were both agreeable with his proposals.

During his dinner speech earlier, Lim observed a minute's silence to remember and honour former Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, who died yesterday after a battle with cancer.

factory in bayan lepas penang 060208 As Penang is home to a large electronic manufacturing community, Lim sent his condolences to Job's family and expressed respect for the man who believed in his dreams ad struggled to achieve them.

"It was not just a case of daring to dream for Jobs, but that he also let others believe they, too, can dream," Lim said, before the 500 strong crowd stood up to join him.

"This is what made Jobs special and inspiring to all of us here," he added.

Najib is expected to unveil a grand election budget this afternoon with his own set of sweeteners thrown in.

It is speculated that the prime minister will either announce another round of bonus payments or a rise in the cost of living allowance from next year.

In view of this, Lim proposed that the cap for personal income tax of 15 percent currently enjoyed by knowledge workers in Iskandar Malaysia be applied across the country.

In 2009, the government proposed the special tax rate for workers in Iskandar, compared with the maximum rate of 26 percent for the rest of the country, in a move to fast-track development.

Pressing for flat rate for all

"After all, we are all Malaysians. There should be a flat rate for all... why is this only applicable to Iskandar?" he asked.

Drawing points from Pakatan Rakyat's shadow budget, Lim said the lower income group and senior citizens, who are hardest hit by the ever-rising cost of living, should not be left out.

He expressed hope that one day senior citizens, who are currently enjoying an annual award of RM100 in Penang, would be provided with RM1,000 yearly, across the nation.

The DAP secretary-general does not see this as an impossible task, considering it would amount to only about RM2 billion a year to reward senior citizens over 60 years of age.

"We have done our maths.This is not money politics, but mathematical politics," he said.

Asked how would he compare Najib's budget with Pakatan's unveiled on Monday , Lim said he hoped the federal budget would also be one that has the people at heart.

"We hope that Najib's budget has the people at heart, too, but we hope it is going to be a real heart," he quipped.