KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 13): The government will only implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) if the minimum income threshold is at RM3,000-RM4,000, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Currently, the minimum monthly wage in Malaysia is RM1,500.

Acknowledging the tax system as efficient and transparent, Anwar said the GST would also help expand the government’s coffers with higher revenue collection. 

However, he believes that the poor should not be burdened with such a tax system.

“I agree, GST is the most transparent and efficient tax system… but my view is, give it some time, some years;  (we must) make sure that the income threshold increases to the minimum of RM3,000-RM4,000, [and] then we can adjust the policy,” he said at the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (ACCCIM) 78th annual general meeting here on Sunday.

Anwar, who is also finance minister, said the GST implementation has been an ongoing issue for decades, even during his time as finance minister in the 1990s.

He disagreed at that time, believing that addressing corruption involving billions of ringgit should be a priority.

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