IT is now almost two months since the heavily debated Sales Tax and Service Tax (SST) was reintroduced in Malaysia. The new tax regime replaces the goods and services tax (GST) after just three years of its launch, and is touted as a friendlier and more painless tax system for the rakyat.
The key difference between the SST and its predecessor is that SST is a single-stage tax regime unlike the GST that is a multi-stage tax and the full tax burden is shouldered by the end consumer (rakyat). Under the new tax system, goods/services are only taxed once at the importer, manufacturer or service provider level, and no further.