‘Various approaches to help people with GST’

by Eve Sonary Heng, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on May 7, 2014, Wednesday

Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem (right) welcomes
Ahmad Maslan to his office at the State Legislative Assembly Complex in
Petra Jaya, Kuching. Ahmad Mazlan came to inform the chief minister that several
officials from the Finance Ministry had held a state-level briefing on goods and
services tax (GST) and a talk on ‘Jelajah Isu Negeri 2014’ organised by \
Information Department at Finas branch office in the city yesterday.

KUCHING: The government will help the people through various approaches for the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said one approach would be to produce a shoppers guide three months before the implementation.

A list of goods would be produced to give consumers information on prices so that they would not be cheated by business operators, he said.

“Through the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism, the step taken is through the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011,” he told a press conference after a GST briefing for 150 Ministry of Communication and Multimedia officers yesterday.

“While at the cabinet committee level, which is to handle the cost of living, that involves various ministries and is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.”

Ahmad explained that the Royal Malaysian Customs has conducted a summary showing that out of 689 goods commonly used by consumers, 73 items or 10 per cent would go up in price from 5 to 6 per cent when GST is implemented on April 1, 2015.

Taxes on 329 other items or 48 per cent would remain unchanged.

Another 40 per cent or 287 items would have their prices reduced from 10 per cent to 6 per cent.

At present there are 255 products under review.

On the sales tax in Sabah and Sarawak, he said it would also be enforced once GST is implemented.

He said to date, 250,000 people had attended seminars and briefings on GST, while 250,000 had accessed the GST portal with the help of various ministries to help share information on GST.

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