IPOH, Sept 18 — The time is not right to reintroduce the Goods and Services Tax as the global economy is still slow, Deputy Finance Minister II Steven Sim Chee Keong said.
“These parties have their reasons for GST’s reintroduction. For example, traders might say they can claim back but we need to look at the situation holistically and not just from one or two parties. The media previously quoted Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan as stating that several parties favour the GST, including the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers , Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia , traders and economic analysts.
Sim said the government has other avenues to increase the country’s revenue apart from reimplementing GST.“We have all these methods, including targeted subsidies. So, with all these methods, we can manage our fiscal needs without resorting to GST for now,” he said.