DAP sec-gen laments party MPs believing rumours of inheritance tax

Transport Minister Anthony Loke denied claims that the government will introduce many new taxes, including the rumoured inheritance tax, in Budget 2025.

The DAP secretary-general also lamented that some of his party lawmakers were misled by such rumours.

In a speech at the Federal Territories DAP convention today, Loke said he has never heard of proposals for an inheritance tax during cabinet meetings.

“Some say the government will introduce many taxes in the budget, including an inheritance tax, ‘My father’s property passed to me, and the government wants to tax it, does the government want to go after the people?’.

“This is a rumour, not a fact,” he said.

Loke said that the rumour originated from an article written by a bank analyst, suggesting that the government would introduce several new taxes, including the reintroduction of the goods and services tax (GST) and the implementation of an inheritance tax.

However, he stressed that this was just analysis, not fact, and that government decisions come from the cabinet, not analysts.

‘Why oppose what doesn’t exist?’

The DAP leader warned of the consequences of believing in rumours.

“What I regret is that people are too easily swayed by rumours, even within the party.

“If you so easily believe rumours and fake news, society becomes unstable, the country becomes chaotic, and problems arise within the party because you don’t trust the leadership's judgment and decisions. If you believe the rumours, problems will occur.

“This includes our own MPs. Many of them have come out against this. Maybe we’ve been in the opposition for too long, so we oppose everything.

“We should oppose things that deserve opposition, but if something doesn’t exist, what are you opposing? We need to be cautious about this,” Loke said.

While Loke did not name names, his message comes a week after five Sarawak DAP lawmakers said they would vote against an inheritance tax if the government introduces it.

The five are Sarawak DAP chairperson and Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen, Dr Kelvin Yii (Bandar Kuching), Mordi Bimol (Mas Gading), Alice Lau (Lanang), and Oscar Ling (Sibu).

Unlikely to have missed it

Loke said any government decision must first pass through the cabinet.

As such, he indicated it was unlikely that he would have missed a cabinet discussion on inheritance tax.

“I take my work very seriously. In the past two years, I’ve never taken leave from the weekly cabinet meetings, not even when sick.

“Unless I’m abroad on official duty, I attend every Wednesday meeting or Friday meetings during Parliament sessions. Nothing is more important than the cabinet meeting,” he added.

The government will table Budget 2025 this Friday.

On Oct 3, Utusan Malaysia reported that economists predicted the budget would introduce five new taxes, including an inheritance tax, luxury goods tax, unhealthy food tax, carbon tax, and artificial intelligence tax.

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