Malaysians have been assured that the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a progresive tax system to be implemented on April 1, 2015, will not burden them.
 
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said that the new tax structure, which is adopted by 90 percent of countries around the world, must be implemented to ensure sustained and continued growth for Malaysia.
 
Najib said the government was not rushing into implementing GST as it had studied its implications for the past 30 years and was convinced that it would benefit the people and country.
 
"Be assured, I will not burden the people. As the Barisan Nasional chairman, I will not inconvenience them as the government is backed by the people," he said when closing a briefing session on GST at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
 
The government will implement the GST at a fixed rate of 6 percent to replace the present Sales and Services Tax at 16 percent.
 
Najib also explained that the GST would spur the country's economic growth and to attain developed nation status.
 
He said the GST was not new as it had been mentioned by three previous finance ministers including opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, when he tabled the budget on Oct 30, 1992.
 
"We must have strong financial resources. Each time we present the annual budget, there must be the bonus element, or else the budget is considered not good.
 
"For a month's bonus, the government has to fork out about RM5.6 billion. It is the government's responsibility to look after the 1.5 million civil servants and 300,000 pensioners. The country needs enough resources," he said.
 
Najib said to sustain the country's financial stability, the implementation of GST was vital to increase revenue stream.

- Bernama