Sim: Not right time to reimplement GST as global economy slow
The time is not right to reintroduce the goods and services tax (GST) as the global economy is still slow, Deputy Finance Minister II Steven Sim said.
He said the government needed to look at GST’s implementation holistically and not only suggestions from certain parties.
The time is not right to reintroduce the goods and services tax (GST) as the global economy is still slow, Deputy Finance Minister II Steven Sim said.
He pointed out that the government needed to look at GST’s implementation holistically and not only suggestions from certain parties.
“These parties have their reasons for GST’s reintroduction. For example, traders might say they can claim back but we need to look at the situation holistically and not just from one or two parties.
“I am not saying whether GST is good or bad but this is not an appropriate time (to implement GST), especially since we are facing a slow global economy and increase in prices of goods,” Sim (above) said after a dialogue session held in conjunction with the Perak state-level Budget 2024 Roadshow today.
Previously, Deputy Finance Minister I Ahmad Maslan stated that several parties favour the GST, including the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia, traders and economic analysts.
Ahmad, via a Facebook post, said he faced strong opposition over the GST once but now many parties have assisted in explaining the tax.
Sim said the government has other avenues to increase the country’s revenue apart from reimplementing GST.
“So we have other ways (such as) better fiscal management, taxation system and government procurement.
“We have all these methods, including targeted subsidies. So, with all these methods, we can manage our fiscal needs without resorting to GST for now,” he added.
Perak’s 9 projects
Meanwhile, Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad said the state government sent a list of nine high-impact projects that had been identified with financial implications totalling RM138.67 billion to the Finance Ministry.
He said these projects would be Perak’s key focus as they would be the main pillars for the state’s development plan, Perak Sejahtera 2030.
“The state government has listed the health sector as one of the primary focus in the state’s priority list to the federal government for the upcoming Budget 2024 with applications of RM1.47 million in project funding,” he added.
