‘GST a must, not an option’

Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar says the GST will likely be included in Budget 2014, and will come into effect sometime in 2015.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Ministry of Finance Secretary-General Mohd Irwan Serigar today said that the government is “trying its best” to include the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Budget 2014.

Mohd Irwan said that the much-debated GST was no longer an “option”, but a “must”.

“It is a must, not an option. We are trying our very best to include it in this year’s budget,” he said today, when asked to comment on the implementation of GST.

“Surely, our ultimate aim is to take care of the country and people. We will ensure everybody is well taken care of, and we will not burden anybody,” he assured.

Mohd Irwan made this announcement during Pemandu’s (Performance Management and Delivery Unit) mid-year briefing on the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) here.

He added that if Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak were to announce the inclusion of GST when tabling Budget 2014, it would take 14 months for its implementation to come into effect – thus, “sometime in 2015″.

GST misunderstood

Mohd Irwan also announced that the government had drawn up a list of “zero-rate items like rice and milk powder” and that the “package will look at both the corporate sector and personal (consumers)”.

“There will be some form of rebate for individuals and SMEs (small-medium enterprises). There is a list which we have identified,” he said.

“We will continue to have dialogues with all stakeholders. Nobody will be left out.”

In June, PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax Services senior executive Jennifer Chang said the GST has been “misunderstood” by the public, stressing that there was a need to relook the controversial system now that polls were over.

Chang said the GST was the only way in which the government could ensure all its citizens paid taxes evenly.

She rubbished the misconception that the price of goods would increase dramatically in the wake of the GST, saying that common goods such as milk would be exempted from the tax.