Penang, Terengganu will also absorb tax

GEORGE TOWN: GEORGE TOWN: Penang and Terengganu will emulate Johor in absorbing the GST on local government services.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (pix) said both the Penang Island City Council and the Seberang Perai Municipal Council will start to absorb the tax from July 1.
He told reporters yesterday the City Council will absorb a total of RM1.231 million while the municipality, a total of RM862,966.19 for this year.
“This is a huge (financial) burden for the City Council and the municipality...”
He added that these services included parking, cleaning services, rentals of wet market stalls, stalls in complexes and halls.
“We will have to ‘ikat perut’ (tighten our belts),” he quipped when asked where the money was coming from at a press conference today.
The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, had directed the Johor government and local councils to seek exemption from the tax.
In response, Johor Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Latif Bandi had instructed all its local governments to stop collecting GST with immediate effect.
The Johor administration made the decision to do so on May 7 after the Ruler made the statement when opening the state legislative assembly.
Meanwhile, in KUALA TERENGGANU, Bernama reports that the Terengganu government will absorb the GST imposed on services provided by the state’s local authorities to alleviate the burden of the people.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman said the GST absorption of RM1.6 million took effect immediately.
“This is not due to public complaints, but instead a move to ensure that the local authorities will not impose the GST on their services for the people,” he said in a statement today.
The services include rents of Kuala Terengganu City Council’s building and premises, rents of markets, leases of land, leases of markets, leases of parking lots, and rents of sport facilities.