THE Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA) is calling for the Pakatan Harapan government to implement a low sales and service tax (SST), which comes into force on September 1. 

MRA president James Loke said what was discussed with the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) today was the effects of the goods and services (GST) tax and implementation of SST.

“Less than 6% (SST) should be good. If not, it will affect retail prices.

“This was a suggestion we shared with the council, along with our thoughts on how to make Malaysia more competitive,” he said after the meeting at Ilham Centre in Kuala Lumpur today. 

Loke said that they understood, however, that the government needed revenue to support the country.

“The council asked us for our recommendations on what’s best for the consumer, retailers and the country. 

“There is no fixed rate yet so we leave it up to the wisdom of the council to come up with a good rate when it starts.”

Loke said they also shared with the council the aftermath of zero-rating the GST on June 1.

“On the first weekend, business was good because a lot of retailers were waiting for the prices of goods to go down. 

“For light ticket items, sales have been generally good.”

Loke also said that the retail sector grew by 3.2 % in the first quarter of this year.

“In the second quarter, we expect to see a 5% to 6 % boost with the Hari Raya celebrations as there is no GST.”

Loke said they also discussed online shopping and how the minimum wage would affect the industry.

“Online shopping is a challenging threat as there is no taxation. We suggested that online businesses also pay tax.

“We also mentioned the effects of raising the minimum wage from RM1,200 to RM1,500 on the cost of doing business.” – June 5, 2018.