KUALA LUMPUR: A Pakatan Harapan MP says he misses the goods and services tax (GST), telling the Dewan Rakyat today it is a much better tax system than the current sales and services tax (SST).
Tebrau MP Steven Choong said one good thing about GST was that it was easier for the Inland Revenue Board and Customs Department to monitor, and harder for people to “run away” from the tax.
“As an accountant, I still miss GST. Although the Sales Tax Act 2018 has been implemented, to me, the GST system is much better,” he said while debating the second reading of the Sales Tax (Amendment) Bill 2020.
Former deputy finance minister Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian) said Choong’s remark was “very interesting”, adding that the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers had also welcomed the possibility of GST’s reintroduction.
Wong Chen (PH-Subang) later said Putrajaya should reintroduce GST at a lower rate of 3% if it really intends on bringing back the tax scheme.
He said this should also be tied to a minimum time frame of five years to allow vendors and consumers to get used to the new tax system.
“With Covid-19, it’s clear that the government needs a consumption tax that’s more stable than SST so that the government’s revenue is more stable and can be preserved.
“If GST is brought back, the government should also ensure that our income tax policy is changed to be made more progressive, cash handouts are increased and the minimum salary is raised to a living wage,” he said.
Wong Chen said he would be all right with GST being brought back, although he will scrutinise the details of the tax system first, adding it should not be reintroduced at the expense of burdening the poorer parts of society.
Deputy Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri said Putrajaya would review the proposals put forward, adding that its priority was to increase the government revenue without burdening the people.