MoF: Big-ticket items should be taxed under SST

PETALING JAYA: Big-ticket items should be taxed under the new Sales and Services Tax (SST), said the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in response to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department's proposal on the list of goods to be exempted under the new tax regime which comes to force on Sept 1.
As per the proposal, airplanes, yachts, passenger ferries, helicopters, spaceship and ski equipment are among the items to be exempted from the tax.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said via a statement that the ministry is of the view that big ticket items which are expensive and luxurious should be taxed under the SST.
He added that the list from the Customs Department is just at a proposal stage and is open for feedback from the public to include and eliminate any items from the list.
"As a federal government which is committed to speaking the truth based on facts and figures, I am ready to admit that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was more transparent and efficient compared with the SST. This is because the GST was subjected to more taxpayers including the general public, hence the higher collection of RM44 billion as compared with the RM21 billion from the SST," he said.
Lim noted that the additional RM23 billion from the GST is a burden to the people and will affect their cost of living.
"The GST is more efficient and transparent as it included 60% of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket of goods as compared with the 38% under the SST. With the replacement of the GST with the SST, the RM23 billion will be returned to the public."