Price hikes - traders to be blamed, never the gov’t

YOURSAY | ‘GST has increased the cost of sales no matter what line the business is.’

Ahmad Maslan: Blame traders for pricier goods post-GST

FellowMalaysian: Blaming traders and retailers for the increase in prices after GST (goods and services taxes) was introduced since April 2015 is pushing responsibility and accountability away from the government.

In the national budget tabled August last year, the Finance Ministry vouchsafed that RM30 billion of GST would be collected in 2015 alone.

So where does this hitherto non-existence tax collection derived from other than from taxpayers and consumers? This explains how GST has greatly contributed to the price increases in almost all consumer and household goods.

Coupled to the GST malaise is the drastic drop in the strength of our ringgit. A good example is car prices.

Though the net duties and taxes of cars has been reduced by 4 percent post-GST, the prices of cars have recently increased due to the abysmal value of the ringgit as car makers have little choice but to increase prices to cover their higher cost of component goods.

Odin Tajué: It is understandable for Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ahmad Maslan to say what he has said - never mind that it is about as comforting and seminal as his exhortation to the suffering hoi polloi to work two jobs.

He has to ‘earn' the RM2 million allegedly ‘donated’ to him by PM Najib Abdul Razak from the RM4 billion ‘donation’ that he (Najib) has received from Mr Arab-With-No-Name.

Patriot1: Honestly, Sports and Youth Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has hit the nail right on the head. Ministers should stop saying stupid things.

GST has increased the cost of sales no matter what line the business is. Secondly, the significant drop of the ringgit value has resulted in more expensive imports and this has a very significant multiplier effect.

Electricity, road tolls, transport charges, etc, have all increased, so how to avoid price increase? This man has absolutely no clue on economics.

Thinking Citizen_1403620863: Anyone who knows mathematics will understand that when the government introduce a consumption tax of 6 percent, the prices will go up by that amount as someone has to pay the tax and certainly you do not expect traders to bear the brunt.

Even for businesses which are not GST registered, they will mark in the 6 percent into their products and services. Depending on the goods going through multiple hands, the tax effect is continuously marked up.

How about the cost which the traders have to pay to the accountants to account for all the GST as our system is so complicated?

Normally GST collected is offset against GST paid. Here the traders have to wait for the refund and it is usually two or three months’ late.

Who is left carrying the baby? And yet you blame the traders.

Old Timer: When will Ahmad Maslan learn to speak sense? How can GST not increase prices?

Does he know what he is talking about? Didn’t he say he has three jobs, and got three salaries? Perhaps with three jobs, and rich as he is, he does not feel the pinch.

Think of those poor Sabahans who get RM 800-900 per month, what kind of life can they have having to pay for housing, transport, children, etc?

GST just added more burden on them. Stop blaming the traders, blame the government which include you, Ahmad Maslan,

SusahKes: Do you think that GST per se is the only component that makes up cost?

Do you know that due to GST, business folks have had to invest in new systems, hire additional manpower, and perhaps even engage expensive IT/tax consultants to help them implement them?

If you are a businessman, what would do with that additional cost, except to pass it? Why not? The hospitals, for example, are also passing down their costs, in spite of the fact that their services are supposed to be exempted from GST.

Apart from that, the years of wastage by the BN-led government, has now started to bite back at Malaysians; weak ringgit purchasing power, high maintenance cost of public facilities and cost of re-distributing/absorbing unemployable graduates into various government departments.

And therefore, the Umno-led government needs the GST to bail it out. In short, your attempt to "validate" your excuses, just goes to confirm that we truly have a nasi goreng seller, for a minister.

Return of oil slump haunts Najib in Budget déjà vu

Baiyuensheng: The dire situation and the constraint of the economy are as a results of ‘ketuanan Melayu’ policies.

Instead of building the country resiliency for globalisation and channelling taxpayers money into building and developing needed soft and hard infrastructure, these money (mostly from non-Muslims’ tax contributions) is like throwing money into a sinkhole with no real productive returns.

Anonymous 29051438068738: But what happened to the "our fundamentals are strong" song trotted out regularly by semi-literate ministers?

In any case, will the RM2.6 billion Chosen One sell his executive jets, cut down on his and his wife’s conspicuous consumption, spend less time jetting around the globe or seek more ‘donations’?

Anonymous_1390110279: So the three levers that can be pulled by the government tare:

1) cut mega projects, and impact the cronies

2) cut civil servants jobs, and impact their voting block

3) cut subsidies and raise GST, and impact taxpayers

-Mkini