Lim: Some exempted items may now be taxable
KOTA KINABALU: While more items are expected to be added to the exempted list for Sales and Services Tax (SST), the government is also looking at previously exempted items to be put back into the taxation system.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said this was to ensure that some of the items that were “inexplicably” exempted were returned to the system.
“We are thinking of introducing a list for items that have been ‘inexplicably’ exempted.
“For example abalone, the item was placed in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) exempted list so we are thinking that it should be included back (as taxable under SST),” he said.
Lim said this after the second session of SST implem e nt a t io n briefing for Sabah yesterday.
He said the list of the more than 5,000 exempted items would be expanded, adding that this was 10 times more than the exempted items under the GST.
He said while the number of businesses registered for the SST had breached the 100,000 mark, it would not reach as high as 400,000, as recorded during the GST implementation.
“The aim is to offer a better deal to both business owners and consumers... so, we hope businesses can reduce prices as they are saving more now.”
At the same time, he said some items, such as cameras and handphones, had received SST reduction of one per cent, from the previous six per cent.
“The new government is different from the old one.
“We are a government that listens. In fact, this is my second time in Sabah (for the SST briefing). It shows how important Sabah is to us,” he said, adding that 44 written questions had been collected at yesterday’s session.