Only 10 percent of everyday items used by the people, mostly processed food, will see any price hikes after the goods and services tax (GST) is imposed, Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan said today.
Out of about 1,000 items the government has identified, only 10 percent of these will see price rises, while there will be no increases in 48 percent of the goods, while prices on the remaining 42 percent will drop.
The six percent tax to be imposed from April 1 next year will bring about price reductions or unchanged prices for up to 90 percent of the common, everyday items, Ahmad told reporters after a forum to promote the GST.
Even though the GST is expected to raise RM9 billion in extra revenue for the government from the second year of its implementation onwards, he said “the people can live without getting affected by the tax at all”.
Ahmad then ran off a list of markets that won't be affected by the GST - night markets, Wednesday and Friday markets and farmer’s and fish markets.
"The basic foods are exempted - rice, flour, sugar, salt, dhal (beans). Meat too - beef, mutton, chicken, duck and pork - are all exempted... eggs, vegetables, seafood like ikan bilis, ikan masin, and domestic water supply are also exempted, " he said.
To help control prices of other items, he added, the government will in January next year release a shopper's guide with recommended prices for about 1,000 items.
Of these items, 689 have been identified, while the remaining are still being evaluated.
[More to follow]
Out of about 1,000 items the government has identified, only 10 percent of these will see price rises, while there will be no increases in 48 percent of the goods, while prices on the remaining 42 percent will drop.
The six percent tax to be imposed from April 1 next year will bring about price reductions or unchanged prices for up to 90 percent of the common, everyday items, Ahmad told reporters after a forum to promote the GST.Even though the GST is expected to raise RM9 billion in extra revenue for the government from the second year of its implementation onwards, he said “the people can live without getting affected by the tax at all”.
Ahmad then ran off a list of markets that won't be affected by the GST - night markets, Wednesday and Friday markets and farmer’s and fish markets.
"The basic foods are exempted - rice, flour, sugar, salt, dhal (beans). Meat too - beef, mutton, chicken, duck and pork - are all exempted... eggs, vegetables, seafood like ikan bilis, ikan masin, and domestic water supply are also exempted, " he said.
To help control prices of other items, he added, the government will in January next year release a shopper's guide with recommended prices for about 1,000 items.
Of these items, 689 have been identified, while the remaining are still being evaluated.
[More to follow]
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.