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KOTA KINABALU: Former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee (pic) has criticised the federal government for failing to return Sabah’s constitutional 40 per cent revenue entitlement, despite Inland Revenue Board (IRB) collecting RM5.7 billion in 2024 and targeting RM6.2 billion this year from the State.

Yong, also SAPP President, said the average of RM6 billion collected annually from Sabah means the state is owed at least RM2.4 billion each year, yet receives only an interim payment of RM600 million, a figure he described as “plucked from nowhere.”

He also questioned why the City Hall (DBKK) is aiding IRB in targeting small-time hawkers for tax enforcement while Sabah’s legitimate revenue remains unpaid, calling the move a contradiction of DBKK’s role in uplifting local livelihoods.

He said these hawkers and micro businesses are not major tax evaders but struggling informal traders facing rising costs and reduced purchasing power, warning that such enforcement damages economic resilience.

Yong urged the federal government to immediately honour the 40 per cent entitlement and called for DBKK to cease acting as a federal tax collector until proper revenue-sharing is restored.