Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 9, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition lawmaker Khairy Jamaluddin has urged the government to take the case over the missing RM18 billion input tax credit under the goods and services tax (GST) system to court if this is true.

“If it is true [a] missappropriation [had happened], then bring it to court,” said the Rembau member of parliament during the tabling of the second reading of the GST (Repeal) Bill 2018 in parliament yesterday. He was commenting on remarks made by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, who had earlier said about RM18 billion or 93% of the RM19.4 billion input tax credit under the GST system since 2015 has gone missing.

On Tuesday, Guan Eng accused the previous Barisan Nasional government of stealing the GST input tax that was to be returned to manufacturers two weeks after it was collected.

Reaffirming his stance against the repeal of the GST Bill 2018, Khairy said the government will be losing an “effective weapon” if the GST were abolished. “We have lost a clear vision on the entire supply chain and for the Customs Department, this is a loss that is very, very big as it will encourage leakages and the black economy,” he said.

Khairy said the government should not compare the sales and services tax (SST) with the GST, rather a comparison should be made with a reformed GST. “We can save the GST and not be regressive. Don’t abolish a modern tax sytem just to fullfill a promise which is populist and irresponsible,” he added.

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