PUTRAJAYA: Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan has been tasked with studying a proposed hybrid tax system incorporating elements of the Sales and Service Tax (SST) and Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Government spokesman Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil, who is also Communications Minister, said Amir had been given time to prepare a report on the matter before bringing it back to the Cabinet for further discussion.
“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 discussion and a decision,” he said at a post-Cabinet meeting press conference here on Wednesday (Aug 19).
On Tuesday (Aug 18), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government was open to studying the incorporation of GST elements into the SST as part of efforts to develop a more progressive tax system.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the government was prepared to review and improve the country's existing tax system, including considering certain GST features that could be incorporated into the current SST framework.
“We are open to studying ways to improve the tax system. But if we are talking about GST alone, my concern, as I have said repeatedly, is that it would mean taxing the people,” added Anwar.
