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It's not rocket science, GST has upped prices

YOURSAY ‘Even banking has GST, so what else is there to say?’

 

Mkini survey: Household expenses up with GST

MrM Yes, on the whole the Malaysiakini survey matches my experience. The goods and services tax (GST) coupled with the collapsing ringgit is sending prices soaring, especially for foodstuffs.

 

The biggest change I noticed personally is the sharp rise in the cost of eating out - by as much as 10 to 20 percent because eateries are either cheating or not understanding how to charge GST.

 

It's so common to see the prices in restaurants going up by about 10 to 12 percent and with GST added on to the menu price.

 

Senior: I am a retiree and I can say with certainty the cost of living has definitely shot through the roof post-GST. Let me give you a few examples:

  • A bowl of white rice in a hotel: Before GST about RM3, post-GST about RM5.

 

  • A cup of hot milk tea in a coffee shop: Before GST RM1.60, post-GST RM1.70.
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  • A bowl of red bean dessert at a food court in Petaling Jaya: Before GST RM2.30, post-GST RM2.80.
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  • A box of 100-sachet Ceylon tea: Before GST RM15.20, post-GST RM17.20.
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  • Movie ticket at GSC: Before RM8, post-GST RM8.50.
  • Seniors with no income now also have to pay extra tax in the form of GST. And now, whatever income we derive from investment in equities, we can no longer claim back a tax refund because of the single tier taxation. So to retirees, this is double blow.

     

    Bee: A box of plain crackers was RM29.95 before GST. I cannot understand how a six percent tax could inflate the price to over RM38. By the way, this same product is sold at SG$7 in Singapore.

     

    Is anybody out there checking and protecting the consumers? It was already a burden before GST. Now we just cannot afford to eat.

     

    Anette: It's not the GST that is flawed, it's the implementation. If properly implemented, all sections of society would have to pay.

     

    It's the unscrupulous tactics of the businessmen. Prices of products are raised and GST charged on top of it. I particularly know of the bakeries in Mid-Valley that have raised their prices and are charging GST on top of it.

     

    Also, why is it that in Malaysia - and not just now - that we have always been paying more for locally-produced products? Nestle cereal, chocolates, toothpaste, washing liquid, etc.

     

    In any other country, anything locally-produced costs less. Silly Malaysians - me included - have been paying without a grumble. It's time for a big change.

     

    CiViC: There will be many cases where consumers tighten their belts, stop spending as before and this will cause a cascading effect on the economy. Oversupply and an economic downturn are inevitable.

     

    YF: Somebody said they collected RM1.7 billion from GST. So whose money was used to pay GST? The consumers.

     

    So how can Umno leaders say that consumers are not affected? It goes to show these politicians never passed elementary school.

     

    The cost of everything is up as a result of GST. Even banking has GST, so what else is there to say?

     

    Justtruthseeker: We don't need rocket science to know that costs would go up because of GST, and this is what the whole bunch of ministers insisted would not happen.

     

    Carlim: The government is telling us that goods will be cheaper due to GST being lower than the abolished Sales and Services Tax (SST).

     

    What they didn't tell you was many goods which were not charged SST previously are now taxed at six percent GST.

     

    Frankiepo: Indeed, my Telekom Malaysia Streamyx bill was RM104.75 before GST, and now it's RM108.45. Why isn't it cheaper? GST sucks.

     

    Righteous: It is not so much the way we are taxed. It is how, where, when, for whom and what the taxes are used, or rather misused that irks me.

     

    New VIP jet, MPs’ pay rise, opposition-held states sidelined, and much more. GST (Gasak Sampai Teruk) is now the reality.

     

    LeongYF If our leaders did not cause the loss of untold billions through theft, corruption, wastage, inefficiency, recklessness and scams, we the rakyat would not have to bear GST and high income tax rates.

     

    We have to bear high private medical and education costs because we do not have a good public health and education system. Goods are being sold at high prices because unseen costs have to be borne by somebody - the consumers.

     

    Cargo arriving at our ports are discharged at high prices into warehouses and facilities of our monopolistic ports, transported by monopolistic logistic companies, plus costs to grease Customs, suffer organised pilferage, run the gauntlet of police blocks, Road Transport Department (JPJ) stops, frequent hijacks along the way, tolls, and in the shops a myriad of licensing and associated costs of unwarranted inspections and ‘kopi’ money to low-level officials who never did a real day's work, as well as foreign workers levies.

     

    The unseen costs are anybody's guess, but it must be higher than GST. This is the real cost of living.


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