What's the status on high-value goods tax, PAS MP asks

PARLIAMENT | PAS MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN-Pasir Mas) asked about the status of the high-value goods tax (HVGT) during his debate on the Finance Bill 2024.

The Islamist party information chief noted that the HGVT was brought up in Budget 2024, but there was still no update on its status.

"The government has taken a long time to finalise the policies and legislation draft," he told the Dewan Rakyat in his speech.

He said there are still no details on the scope of goods and threshold values that will be affected by the tax.

"It looks to me like this government makes announcements first, but has no idea as to the details," he said.

However, Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying did not respond to his query specifically as she ran out of time due to the volume of issues covered by her speech text.

She promised written responses to all 11 MPs who debated on the bill.

Loan moratorium for flood victims

In 2023, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the HVGT in his Budget 2024 speech, with an expected implementation date of May 1, 2024.

However, on March 30, Bernama reported that the government was still engaging with relevant stakeholders to finalise the details.

Utusan Malaysia reported in July that Anwar explained the delay was to provide more time to refine the policy and related legislation, ensuring its implementation would be orderly, efficient, and aligned with international best practices.

Today's sitting saw the Finance Bill passed after a voice vote.

In another development, Fadhli called for a six-month moratorium on loans from all banks for borrowers affected by the ongoing flood.

He referred to his coalition Perikatan Nasional's time in power during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when it announced the six-month loan relief for all individuals, microenterprises and affected SMEs.

This move had benefited more than eight million borrowers, he said.

"At that time, in 2021, banks recorded RM20 billion in profit, meaning that the moratorium did not weaken our banking industry," he added.

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