Don’t compare GST with others, Malaysians told

Thursday, 07 November 2013 10:00 

John Gilbert 

Malaysians are urged not to compare the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) which will be implemented in 2015, with other countries, especially Singapore as the tax system in both countries are different, Royal Malaysian Customs director of internal taxes Subromaniam Tholasy said.

He said there are many negative reports in the media about GST that has fuelled wrong perceptions about the benefits of GST to companies and the people in Malaysia.

“I urge Malaysians not to compare our GST with those from other countries, especially with GST in Singapore, as it was implemented twenty years ago.

“We cannot go that far back to implement the same GST rate as things are different from that time and now, he told delegates at the Budget 2014 — ?Key Budget Changes and their Implications? seminar organised by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

He said the GST which will be implemented in April 2015 is a ‘beautiful’ tax system that will benefit Malaysian companies and he was glad that Malaysia is finally adopting the move.

“I urge everyone to study the GST system first,” he said upon presenting his paper titled “GST 2015 — What to Expect,” at the event.

During the panel discussion, Taxand Malaysia Sdn Bhd co-founder and chairman Dr Veerinderjeet Singh said with the implementation of GST, the government should consider reducing corporate and personal tax rate.

“The GST would take two to three years to stabilise and when it does, the government should consider reducing corporate and personal tax in the next four to five year time,” he said during the discussion.

The GST is implemented by following the good model and best practices that has been put in place by other countries, ministry of finance senior deputy secretary for tax analysis division Khadijah Abdullah said.

“The GST will remain as a “good” tax whereby the government will be able to collect more tax revenue,” she said at the panel discussion.

The Budget 2014 seminar was organised by MIA and the Malaysian Association of Tax Accountants (MATA) and hosted a list of prominent speakers namely, deputy under-secretary for economics and international division in the Ministry of Finance Dr Chen Chaw Min, who presented a paper titled “2014 Budget Tax Proposal: The Economics Outlook and Implications.”

A paper titled “2014 Budget Highlights” was presented by Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia director of dispute resolution department Abu Tariq Jamaluddin while the panel discussion session was moderated by Deloitte Malaysia country tax leader Yee Wing Peng.