Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has admitted the goods and services tax (GST) which caused the downfall of BN administration, was indeed a more transparent and efficient system of taxation compared with the sales and services tax (SST).
“We are not denying that GST is more transparent because it can collect more taxes over a wider scope, so it has (a greater) impact on the people,” he said during the minister’s question time in Dewan Rakyat sitting today.
“Although SST is not as transparent and as efficient (as GST), there will be less negative impact on the people, especially the end users,” he said.
“The SST will impact the people – we are not denying that. Unlike BN which claimed the GST would bring down the prices of goods,” he said.
He, however, argued that the people’s ‘pain’ will be halved from what they had suffered after the implementation of GST in 2015.
This is because the Harapan government is expecting to collect RM21 billion from the SST compared to the RM44 billion collected from the GST annually by BN government, he said.
“(We collect) RM23 billion less in tax revenue… This is the gift of the Harapan government to the people,” he added. – Malaysiakini