PETALING JAYA: Removing the Goods and Services Tax (GST), or reducing its rate to zero as proposed by Opposition leaders will harm Malaysia, said the Barisan Nasional strategic communications team. “With all the money foregone as part of the tax reforms and the fall in petroleum revenues, abolishing GST or reducing the GST rate to zero is unrealistic and will hurt Malaysia,” it said in a statement on Thursday. It said that the government bears the tens of billions of ringgit foregone every year from reduced corporate tax and personal income tax together with increases in BR1M payments. The Penang Chief Minister had said that changing the GST rate to zero was the same as abolishing it. Furthermore, the statement said, Pakatan Harapan gave the impression that GST was an additional new tax that burdened Malaysians.

Source: The Star April 27, 2017 09:33 UTC