KUALA LUMPUR – The government will prioritise improving the current tax system before deciding whether to reintroduce new taxes such as the goods and services tax (GST), said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
“I think the GST is the tax structure that we always look at, and it will take some time before we review everything.
“But at this time, our focus is actually (using) the tools that we have, such as the SST (sales and service tax) and so on,” he told reporters at the launch of Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd and Syarikat Jaminan Kredit Perumahan Bhd’s guarantee schemes here, today.
On the increase in the service tax rate and the implementation of the high-value goods tax, Amir said the government would improve its communication with stakeholders before introducing new tax measures to avoid recurring confusion.
“When you look at it, the service tax rate, which increased from 6.0% to 8.0%, was introduced and announced in Budget 2024, and actually, there was a lot of consultation done with various groups to ensure that we figured out what the key things were.
“At the same time, as with anything that goes out, communications could be better at times, and we recognise that we should do a little bit more on that front,” he said.
He said that revising the service tax rate is beneficial for increasing government revenue and redistributing the proceeds to benefit society.
Amir also agreed with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry to increase enforcement efforts to prevent unaffected businesses from exploiting the higher tax rate by raising prices.
“I think many Malaysians can also play their part to highlight where they feel that prices have been raised but are not consistent with the increase in the service tax,” he said.
As announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the Budget 2024 presentation in October last year, the service tax rate will rise to 8% from 6% in March 2024, while the high-value goods tax rate will be imposed between 5% and 10% beginning in May. – March 4, 2024