Enforce GST after reducing income gap

Publication: NST

Date of publication: May 3, 2014

Section heading: Main Section

Page number: 008

KUALA SELANGOR: Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said he personally supports the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) but cautions that it is not the right time to do so.

GST, he said, was a comprehensive method of collecting taxes and was accepted by many countries.

He said Pakatan was only concerned about the effectiveness of its implementation.

"I am one of those who encouraged GST to be implemented but not at this time. This is because of the imbalance of income in our society," he said at a handover ceremony for a mosque from the Public Works Department to Selangor Islamic Religious Deparment at Masjid Darul Ibadah in Ijok yesterday.

"When the GST is implemented, the low-income group will feel the burden more than the high-income group.

"If the price of 'Kopi O' increases by 10 sen, a person who earns RM1,000 will feel a greater impact than the one who earns RM3,000 a month.

"The right time to implement GST is when the income gap between the citizens have been overcome."

Khalid said although many top PKR leaders did not turn up at the recent anti-GST rally, they supported the protest.

On his tweet on Wednesday that he would not seek a third term as Selangor MB, Khalid said he would not change his mind as he had already informed the sultan of Selangor.