Goh Chee Peng, who handed the petition to MBSJ representative Reyzal Mazlan, said he had collected more than 5,500 signatures from disgruntled residents.
“We want to make our point clear because our elected representatives are not opposing this (tax hike). Therefore, we have to come down to the ground ourselves to make a stand,” the SS14 resident said in a press conference at MBSJ’s office.
MBSJ had announced that the proposed increase would be capped at 25%. If approved, the tax hike will take effect in January next year, making it the first in 32 years as the last review was conducted in 1992.
Goh said he had not seen improvements in cleanliness or infrastructure in Subang despite the current tax, and questioned the need for an increase.
He added that many residents were already dealing with the challenges of inflation and economic instability, saying an increase in fees would exacerbate their financial burden.
He also said there had been a lack of transparency about how the additional funds from the tax increase would be allocated.
He said the council should provide detailed information on how the money is intended to be used and demonstrate the anticipated benefits for the community.
Nancy Lim, a USJ 12 resident, urged the council to hold a town hall meeting to hear residents’ concerns and discuss alternative ways to generate income for Subang Jaya, rather than imposing a higher tax on residents.
Another resident, Clarence Siew, said the tax hike would result in financial constraints on himself and the rest of the community.
“This will reduce and affect my savings plans. Not everyone is a business owner, most people here are salaried workers,” he said.
Reyzal, who is MBSJ’s deputy director of management services, reminded residents that the cut-off time for in-person objections would be at 5pm tomorrow, while online objections will close at 11.59pm.
On July 19, MBSJ said it had sent out 326,646 notices informing property owners in the areas under its purview about the new assessment tax valuation list. In return, it received 2,492 online objections from property owners as of July 15.
“MBSJ will also carry out the valuation list review process starting from Aug 16. The reasons for the objections submitted by property owners will be thoroughly investigated and heard in the objection hearing meeting,” it said.