“In principle, SST is a tax on businesses, although a small portion of it is passed on to consumers. That is true. But GST is comprehensive. So, I do not understand why those claiming to champion the people want to impose a tax on everyone,” he said.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said approximately 2,000 types of goods and services were exempted from taxation under SST, compared with fewer than 750 under GST.
Speaking during the Minister’s Question Time session in the Dewan Rakyat today, he also noted that SST revenue currently accounted for 3.2 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), equivalent to the proportion recorded by GST revenue in 2017.
He said this challenged claims that reinstating GST would necessarily generate higher government revenue.
Anwar stressed that SST would remain the country’s taxation framework, although the government was open to making adjustments to address specific cases of double taxation and improve the existing system.
“Where there are specific cases involving double taxation, we can make adjustments. I am not dogmatic about economics.
“The system will remain SST, but with some adjustments to improve it. Why not?” he said.
He added that a review of GST should only be considered when the people’s minimum income had increased to at least RM4,000, ensuring that a broad-based tax would not place an excessive burden on lower-income households.
“The government believes that the cost of living remains a burden on the people, and as long as their incomes have not reached a reasonable level, it would not be appropriate to reintroduce GST,” he said.
– BERNAMA
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