Finance minister II: GST not an option amid high cost of living, govt sticking with SST

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — The federal government will continue to implement the Sales and Service Tax (SST), as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will not be considered due to the ongoing burden of the cost of living.

Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the government would continue to improve the SST to reduce the impact of cascading taxes and simplify compliance.

He said the SST also provided room for a more progressive and targeted approach.

“The government can choose which goods and services to tax while exempting essential items. Although some of the tax may be passed on through prices, the scope of taxation can be determined with the people’s affordability in mind,” said Amir Hamzah during the Supply Bill (Budget 2027) policy-level winding-up debate for the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in Parliament today.

He explained that the GST tended to be regressive because lower-income groups spent a larger proportion of their income on goods and services.

“In other words, even at the same tax rate, the burden relative to income is heavier for the people, particularly the B40 and M40 groups.

“Therefore, any additional revenue must be assessed alongside the burden borne by the people,” he said.

According to the Fiscal Outlook 2027, SST collections are estimated to rise to RM67 billion in 2026 from RM55.9 billion in 2025. They are projected to reach RM73.3 billion in 2027, an increase of RM17.4 billion over two years.

Amir Hamzah said SST collections currently account for three per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), the same level recorded by the GST in 2017.

This means replacing the SST with the GST would not necessarily generate additional revenue, but would instead shift the tax burden entirely from businesses, including exporters, to the people, he emphasised.

“This increase demonstrates the SST’s ability to generate revenue to finance the country’s needs.

“At the same time, the government has the flexibility to determine which goods and services are taxed on a targeted basis while exempting essential items,” said Amir Hamzah.

He said the government recognised GST’s advantages in collection efficiency, transparency and the input tax credit mechanism. However, the choice of tax system must take into account the people’s ability to pay.

On compliance, he said nearly 700,000 businesses were registered under the GST in 2018, compared with only about 130,000 under the SST in 2026. This means more businesses would have to bear compliance costs under the GST system, said Amir Hamzah. — Bernama

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吉隆坡，10月29日讯——由于生活成本持续上涨，联邦政府将继续实施销售和服务税（SST），而不考虑实施商品和服务税（GST）。

第二财政部长拿督斯里阿米尔·哈姆扎·阿齐赞表示，政府将继续改进销售与服务税（SST），以减少税收级联的影响并简化合规流程。

他表示，SST 也为采取更具进步性和针对性的方法提供了空间。

“政府可以选择对哪些商品和服务征税，同时豁免必需品。虽然部分税收可能会通过价格转嫁给民众，但征税范围可以根据民众的承受能力来确定，”财政部部长阿米尔·哈姆扎今天在国会就2027年财政预算案（供应法案）进行政策层面总结辩论时表示。

他解释说，消费税往往具有累退性，因为低收入群体将更大比例的收入用于商品和服务。

“换句话说，即使税率相同，相对于收入而言，民众的负担也更重，尤其是 B40 和 M40 群体。

“因此，任何额外的收入都必须与人民所承受的负担一起评估，”他说。

根据《2027 年财政展望》，销售与服务税 (SST) 的征收额预计将从 2025 年的 559 亿令吉增至 2026 年的 670 亿令吉。预计到 2027 年将达到 733 亿令吉，两年内增加 174 亿令吉。

阿米尔·哈姆扎表示，销售与服务税 (SST) 的收入目前占国内生产总值 (GDP) 的 3%，与 2017 年商品及服务税 (GST) 的收入水平相同。

他强调，这意味着用消费税取代销售与服务税不一定会产生额外的收入，而是会将税收负担完全从企业（包括出口商）转移到民众身上。

“这一增长表明，SST 有能力创造收入来满足国家的需求。”

“与此同时，政府可以灵活地决定对哪些商品和服务征税，并有针对性地豁免必需品，”阿米尔·哈姆扎说。

他表示，政府认可消费税在征收效率、透明度和进项税抵免机制方面的优势。然而，税制的选择必须考虑到民众的支付能力。

关于合规问题，他表示，2018年约有70万家企业在消费税（GST）制度下注册，而到2026年，在销售与服务税（SST）制度下注册的企业仅约13万家。阿米尔·哈姆扎表示，这意味着在消费税制度下，更多企业将不得不承担合规成本。——马新社

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