Finance Minister II rules out reintroduction of GST due to burden on low-income Malaysians

• Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan stated that there are no plans to reintroduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Malaysia
• He mentioned that the inflation rate for food and beverages was at 5%, which is felt most by the people
• The Sales and Services Tax (SST) for food and beverages was kept at 6% to address cost of living challenges
• Amir Hamzah emphasized the need to plug leakages through targeted subsidies and broadening the tax base to increase the government’s fiscal space
• Malaysia has a low tax base rate compared to Singapore, and tax reforms are needed without burdening the people
• The government is monitoring prices of goods and will take stern action against traders who increase prices errantly
• The government is open to studying taxes that could increase revenue without far-reaching impacts
• Gradual steps are being taken to broaden the tax base, such as increasing SST for commercial users consuming over 600 kilowatts an hour
• The service tax in Malaysia will be revised to 8% from 6% effective March 1, 2024, but certain services like food and beverage will remain at 6%

Source: thestar.com.my

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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