A recent decision to include certain employee perks in the wage tax bracket is being viewed as another subtle attempt at increasing taxes although the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has been careful to say that it is only an effort to strengthen corporate financial management.

The finance ministry certainly has good reasons to do so, chief of which is to ensure fair income distribution, which is the policymaker's mandate.

The excessively generous tax-free welfare system that some monopolistic State companies have been offering their employees has already fueled public anger as it is perceived as leading to widening the income gap. A check on such tax evasion has been long overdue.