Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said that the government has yet to decide on the reintroduction of the goods and services tax (GST) amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Responding to a question during yesterday’s parliament session, Tengku Zafrul emphasised that the government’s priority for now is to fight the pandemic, protect the people, and support businesses. He further said that the government is studying other feasible consumption tax models while considering every aspect, including the weaknesses of the current sales and services tax (SST) and previous implementation of the GST. On top of that, the government has also been seeking feedback from various parties with interest.

“This study will cover the impact on the economy, cost of living, impact of the tax on price of goods, and its ability to fight black economy activities. Any taxation system, whether improved or new, must be simple to administer and not increase business costs, and can strengthen the country’s fiscal position,” said the minister.

Early last month, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had revealed that the government will study the proposal by various parties to reintroduce the GST, including industry players, academicians, and members of the public. He said that although there are those who believed the GST to be a more efficient tax system than the SST, meticulous study is required.

For context, Malaysia had employed the SST since the 1970s, before switching over to the GST in 2014. The government subsequently reimplemented the SST again in September 2018.

(Source: The Sun Daily)

• TAGS:
• Goods And Services Tax
• GST
• Sales and Services Tax
• SST
• Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
• Tax
• Tax Systems
• Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz