MORE ITEMS MAY BE EXEMPTED FROM SST

This will help middle- and low-income groups, claims tax expert

MORE items, especially food and beverage products, are expected to be exempted from Sales and Services Tax (SST) by year end.

Ernst & Young Tax Consultants Sdn Bhd director Jalbir Singh said more food and beverage goods would be gazetted and exempted from the tax.

“Food-related products are expected to be exempted because many items from this category are not excluded yet.

“The government is concerned with problems that people are facing, especially the cost of living, so this exemption will take into account the middle-income group (M40) and below (B40),” he said after the “Masterclass Forum: Impact of GST to SST” by CPA Malaysia and the New Straits Times Press (NSTP) yesterday.

To date, 5,443 items have been exempted from SST, compared with 500 items under the Goods and Services Tax. A total of 5,612 items are subject to 10 per cent SST and more than 600 items are subject to five per cent SST.

Malayan Banking Bhd head of group tax and performance reporting Surin Segar and Deloitte country indirect tax leader Tan Eng Yew were at the forum, facilitated by NSTP convergence editor (business) Ahmad Lokman Mansor.

The experts said confusion remained over SST as companies shifted to the new tax regime.

They urged the government to improve on grey areas to ensure a more efficient tax system.

“There should be more clarity and more definitions in the tax treatment,” Surin said.

Jalbir said businesses needed two to three months to adapt.

“We can only see and evaluate its success as early as January 2019 and, for the time being, it gives them the opportunity to make adjustments and transitions.”