KUCHING: The lack of clarity on the mechanism of Goods and Services Tax (GST) implemented by the government starting yesterday, has led to much confusion and ‘mess’ than what the authorities have originally thought.
PKR national women vice-president Voon Shiak Ni said consumers seemed to be in the dark on the whole GST mechanism.
They were confused on what things were taxable and what were not.
Voon said there were also queries by consumers on which fuel was taxable under GST, adding that consumers, including herself, were informed that RON95 petrol was GST-taxable, but not RON97 and diesel.
“The lack of clarity on the whole GST mechanism has resulted in consumers not knowing what they are taxed for.
“It seems that the information on GST has not reached the grassroots effectively.
“Therefore, we think that much need to be done to clear the air on GST and empower consumers with the necessary knowledge on the tax system to protect themselves against unauthorised charges by any parties.
Voon said GST although the GST was initially mooted by the federal government to replace the sales and services tax, most people were not optimistic about the implementation process even with many workshops and explanations being conducted.
“The anxiety and concern among the people can be seen from the long queues of anxious shoppers doing their last minute shopping to stock up essential household goods due to their understanding of the implication of price hike induced by GST.”
Voon said the party understood that a country had to resort to GST as a new source of income to diversify the sources of tax revenue but the government needed to take the people’s welfare as the prime consideration.
“The consumers are the ones who have to tighten the purse strings and therefore, they have the right to know with clarity the whole mechanism and how to protect themselves against any unauthorised charging of taxes by business operators.”