Those who earn a monthly income of below RM2,000 will fork out RM51.89 or 2.59 percent of their income to pay for Goods and Services Taxes (GST), according to a research done by the Finance Ministry.

This is, in fact, RM20.06 more than what they paid for the previous Sales and Services Tax (SST) which only amounted to RM36.83 or 1.84 percent of their monthly income.

For those who earn RM8,000 a month, they  will fork out RM290 or 4.14 percent of their remuneration for GST compared to only RM169 or 2.8 percent for the SST.

The ministry disclosed the incriminating figures in a parliamentary written reply last Thursday.

In defending the figures, the ministry said: "Based on the research, the perception that the lower income group pays more than higher income group after the implementation of GST isn't correct."

"The higher income group pays more when compared to the lower income group as their expenditures are higher.”

"This has proved that the GST model is progressive," the ministry told Oscar Ling (DAP-Sibu).

Inflation is forecasted at 2 to 3 percent for 2015, according to the ministry.

The implementation of GST since April 2015 has caused only a minor impact on the rakyat's expenditure, said the ministry.