Posted on October 28, 2013, Monday
KOTA KINABALU: The public should look positively at the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 17 months’ time and not quick to consider the announcement in Budget 2014 last Friday as a political gimmick of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid expressed her regret that various opinions on social media websites had criticised Budget 2014 tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“Before we consider any announcement as negative, we must first study its benefits. People who always think negative actually do not understand as they did not do research,” she told Bernama yesterday.
Jainab said the implementation of the GST in April 2015 would give opportunities for companies to restructure their accounts and stabilise their business operations prior to its implementation.
“We should remember that the government will assist the companies during the 17-month period so that they are ready when the GST is being implemented later,” she said.
She also said employers in Sabah should welcome the announcement by the prime minister, especially in the enforcement of minimum wage policy to workers.
“When the minimum wage was introduced, many employers grumbled as its implementation would have caused many companies to close down.
“Now, they (employers) should take the opportunity from the asistance that will be provided by the government so that they are able to give the minimum wage to their workers, and at the same time, derived profit from the GST implementation later,” she said.
During the tabling of Budget 2014, Najib said the government would implement the GST at six per cent, to replace the sales and services tax.
According to him, the GST was a tax system that is fair and comprehensive that benefits all Malaysians.
Najib also said the government had proposed an attractive package for businesses such as reduction in corporate and small and medium enterprises income tax from the year of assessment 2016, as well as provide accelerated capital allowance for cost of purchasing ICT equipment and software until year of assessment 2016.
It also included the reduction in cooperative income tax by one to two percentage points from the year of assessment 2015, and a training grant of RM100 million to businesses that send their employees for GST training in 2013 and 2014.
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