Gear Up For Smooth Transition To GST, Malaysian Businesses Urged

Details Published on Wednesday, 19 February 2014 14:20

Pic : The Malay Mail

SINGAPORE: The implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Malaysia will take place as scheduled in April 2015, and businesses are urged to prepare for this by setting up task forces to ensure smooth transition, said Royal Malaysian Customs Department Director of Internal Tax Division, Subromaniam Tholasy.

“Next year the government will go ahead with the implementation and there will be no turning back,” he said to Bernama after a briefing on the GST to Malaysian and Singapore companies here.

The two-day road shows to update businesses on the GST implementation were conducted at the Malaysia High Commission, the Singapore Manufacturing Federation and Singapore Business Federation here.

The event was organised in cooperation with Malaysia High Commission.

“We are going to open our GST system for early registration this May.

This will give us an opportunity to test our system, and the businesses, their system,” Tholasy said.

He said the companies need time to analyse and do the mapping of all their transaction to ensure that they are ready for the transition.

“On our side, our system has been completed. We are currently training our staff and also engaging the public and the businesses,” he said.

GST Revenue Could Help Malaysia Reduce Debt Burden, Says Senator

Pic: www.sharonperry.ca

KUALA LUMPUR: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) could bring in annual revenue of between RM20 billion to RM30 billion and help the country reduce its debt burden, said Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin.

"I believe the GST is value added as it would give us a continuous revenue stream. It is not a new thing as its implementation was planned seven years ago, it's just that the opposition has been confusing the people on the issue," he said during the debate on the 2014 Supply Bill, Tuesday.

According to Forbes magazine, household debt in Malaysia stands at a worrying 83 per cent of gross domestic product and the GST could help curb Malaysians' spending habits.

Chin expressed hope that the GST would not be applied to basic items such as children's needs while urging the government to reduce the GST rate from six per cent to three per cent as is done by many countries which have recently implemented the GST.

He also expressed confidence the government would have studied the socio-economic impact of implementing the GST and subsidy rationalisation to ensure only the target groups benefit.

The government should also look at the threat of corruption, he said, citing Greece, which fell to 94th spot in Transparency International's 2012 Corruptions Perception Index from 80th in 2011, ranking it the most corrupt of the 27 European Union countries.

-Bernama

Make A Stand On GST, Govt Told

Friday, 28 June 2013 11:06

KUALA LUMPUR: Consumer groups want the government to make a stand over the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which has now been shelved pending further studies.

The groups claim thorough studies should have been conducted before the government’s announcement to introduce GST.

“Why propose something if no proper studies were done in the first place? It is akin to testing waters,” said Muslim Consumer Association Malaysia (PPIM) executive secretary Datuk Nadzim Johan.

“We are not against the GST but we need to know the details and till today we don’t know what are the mechanics of the GST that will be adopted in Malaysia. Are we going to use the Singapore model? What is the percentage of GST? So how can we agree to something which remains unclear till today?” he asked.

Nadzim said the GST had its pros and cons but the government needed to be firm in deciding what it wanted and how it would want to introduce GST.

“The GST needs to be thought with the country in mind and not turn it into a political issue. Sadly, some quarters are still turning such important matters into a political issue which is not good for the nation,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if the government decides to shelve today or announce the implementation of the GST ahead of the tabling of the Budget. What is more important is that the government needs to have clear guidelines.”

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj admitted the GST was important for the nation to generate income.

“But the importance and relevance of the GST must be seen,” Selvaraj said.

He said the GST would be another form of revenue for the government as it was too heavily reliant on petroleum which was a depleting resource.

“The government should communicate the workings of the GST to the rakyat as many remain sceptical of its benefits,” he said.

“There should be transparency and only then it will gain the trust of the people and to see the money (obtained from GST) put into good use.

“Fomca admits it is sensitive and unpopular but we need a bipartisan agreement for the good of the country. Let’s look beyond the politics.”

Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah had, during Question Time in Parliament yesterday, said the government had not made any decision to implement the GST and had yet to determine a GST rate.

There was a desire by the government to implement the GST in 2007 and the Bill was tabled for first reading a year later only for it to be retracted as the studies done based on the prices of goods then showed it was “not suitable to make a decision”.

Most nations around the world including Singapore, India, China and the European Union have implemented the GST or also known as Value Added Tax (VAT).

- Haresh Deol/ The Malay Mail

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/hazy-about-gst#sthash.m1IlLhC4.dpuf