No development without GST, says Najib

Nabihah Hamid Nabihah Hamid Updated 8 years ago · Published on 8 Jun 2017 9:57PM · 1 Comments

THE government made a tough call in deciding to introduce the goods and services tax (GST) last year, said Prime Minister Najib Razak today.

Najib said the GST has so far brought in RM42 million which has funded the development of the country.

“Our budget for development is about RM48billion. If you take away RM42 billion, that means there will be no development in the country,” he said at a TN50 dialogue session in the Prasarana office in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

To the opposition demanding that the tax be removed, Najib asked, where else will the money come from?

“The opposition are saying that if they come into power, they will remove the GST. But the GST is for development, so pay the service. Where are you going to get the money if you remove GST?

The 6% GST came into effect on April 1 2015. 

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng promised Malaysians last month that they would no longer be burdened with the tax once Pakatan Harapan took over Putrajaya.

Meanwhile, Najib said Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana) this year collected RM17 billion in rates, RM3.7 billion more than last year, due to a 21% increase in ridership for public transport., 

“Imagine the economic contribution it can make when the ridership    increases by 40% in 2030, as targeted by the government.

“I don’t have the proper figures with me, but of course the economic returns will be high,” he told thousands of Prasarana employees in the town hall.

Najib also urged the employees to do their part to help Prasarana improve the efficiency of public transport services in the country.

“Malaysia is unique because any problem in Malaysia, especially if it is related to transport, will be blamed on the government and the prime minister.

“Therefore, we will have to make sure that our public transport system must always be at ‘zero defect’ level.” – June 8, 2017.

Prime Minister Najib Razak says the GST has brought in RM48billion, without which there would be no money for development in Malaysia. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, June 8, 2017.

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Comments

  • Not many people will agree that GST is bad for the country.Most, like me, welcome it as it taxed you the more you spent and is fair. However, there are too many categories of GST and that is the main problem The Govt just need to have one category across the board for easier implementation. I will offer my experience and observation and hope the Govt will take notice. For example, your nasi lemak seller. He does not pay GST on rice but he buy them from a supermarket. Supermarket pay rents, electricity and that attracts GST.So nasi lemak seller has to bear the cost increase but he cannot claim it as input tax for his nasi lemak except to add the 6% to his selling price. Residential developments are GST exempt but contractors and consultants have to pay GST. Developers cannot claim back the input tax, thus either load up on selling prices or reduce profit margin. Many small businesses are finding it hard to claim the input tax, thus taking the easy way by increasing their prices.This has multiplier effects on the whole country and economy, thus we see many products and restaurants increasing their prices .It is time the Govt look into streamlining the GST into GST or no GST category.If the end product is non GST, all the input materials and labour into it must be non GST.

    Posted 8 years ago by Can Lim · Reply