PM open to studying GST comeback 'if that's what people want'

The government will study the possibility of re-introducing the goods and services tax (GST) if that is what the rakyat wish for, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

“Well, if the people believe it (the GST) is better, we will study that.

“... if the GST is what the people want, we will study if it is better than the SST (sales and service tax),” he said when asked about a suggestion from the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) that a three percent GST be included in Budget 2020.

However, Mahathir did not expect any studies or changes to be made in time for Budget 2020, which is slated to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 11.

“It will be difficult (to study it for) this budget. Maybe later on,” he said.

Pakatan Harapan previously removed the six percent GST after promising to do so during their GE14 campaign.

It was later replaced with the SST, a different tax regime which charges 10 percent on goods and six percent on services.

According to MIER, the GST will be able to contribute more to the government's coffers while still being fair to consumers from all walks of life, especially if the B40 were excluded.

Back in 2017, the previous BN government collected RM44 billion from the GST.

The Harapan government estimates to collect RM22 billion from the SST this year.

When met in Shah Alam, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim said the government needs to study the matter carefully and compare the effectiveness of the GST and the current taxation system, the SST.

"My personal view is that we have to study it carefully because our position has always been to review the whole taxation policy and not to tie it essentially to the GST," he said. 

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