SHAH ALAM, Aug 20 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has instructed the Finance Ministry to conduct a comprehensive study on a proposed hybrid taxation system combining the existing Sales and Service Tax (SST) with elements of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
According to the New Straits Times, government spokesperson Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan had been tasked with leading the study and presenting its findings to the Cabinet.
Fahmi said the study was still at an early stage and would require time, given the need to consider lessons from the previous implementation of GST as well as shortcomings in the current SST system.
“This is still at an early stage, and the Finance Ministry has been given time because this is not something that can be done hastily.
“It involves lessons from the implementation of the GST system as well as issues faced under the current SST system.
“These matters will therefore be considered by the Finance Ministry before they are brought to the Cabinet for a decision,” he said at a post-Cabinet meeting press conference on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Anwar said the government was open to incorporating certain GST elements into the SST as part of efforts to develop a more progressive taxation system.
However, no specific timeframe has been set for the completion of the study.
Malaysia first introduced GST on April 1, 2015, during the administration of then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, at a rate of 6 per cent.
GST was later replaced by SST on September 1, 2018, following the change of government after the May 2018 general election.
