KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — The government has no plans to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) next year because it wants to focus on targeted subsidies first, said Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
He said for next year, the government will only implement taxes that were announced in Budget 2024.
“Yes, we have to find income. So the Sales and Service Tax (SST) is increased from six to eight per cent. Otherwise, how do we generate revenue?
“We also want to implement targeted subsidies, and we will focus on diesel first and then RON95. (Because of this), we will postpone (implementation of GST),” he said in Dewan Negara today.
He said this in response to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Sivaraj Chandran who wanted to know about the GST implementation plan and suggested that it be reintroduced at a rate lower than six per cent.
Ahmad said he does not know yet when GST will be implemented in Malaysia, despite some 90 per cent of countries globally having already introduced it.
Meanwhile, he said the government had implemented a six per cent GST instead of a lower rate previously to ensure addition income.
He said among the benefits of GST is it can reduce leakages in the shadow economy.
Ahmad said GST also reduces business costs, noting the ‘tax refund’ element. He added that the tax system is also levied on exports.
“GST is a progressive tax, meaning the more we spend, the more money we have, the more tax we pay.
— Bernama
