Many of them felt that the scope of the tax was being extended too far, burdening consumers for transactions even over the internet.
Some angry comments carried political overtones, with suggestions that another government could end the GST, which was first implemented on April 1, 2015, with a standard rate of 6%.
Facebook user Tesla Navier said if left unchecked, the government may levy the tax on other online services as well.
“This govt needs to go otherwise (we) will have to pay for WhatsApp and every time we breathe in Malaysia we will be taxed also,” he said.
Sweekeng Lim asked what had happened to the government’s duty to care for the people.
“Where is the taking care of rakyat mentality gone to in Malaysian government? Asking money from its people all the time, becoming a heartless, greedy monster sucking the fun and joy out of every Malaysian,” he said.
Another user, Andrew Wong, said: “They (service providers) don’t pay… the rakyat is paying… they will just channel the tax money to the government.
“The government doesn’t even need to lift a finger. Simple. Rakyat terus bodoh, GST terus naik (People will remain ignorant, the GST will keep rising).”
Kenson Morais quipped: “Don’t forget to tax toilet paper also ya.”
However, not all were against the move, with a few users saying they did not think they would be adversely affected by the implementation of GST on services like Netflix and iflix.
Eric Wong said: “Yes!… I don’t watch any TV or internet TV whatsoever. Heck I don’t even have a TV.”
Earlier, Customs director-general T Subromaniam said the proposed amendments to the Goods and Services Tax Act 2014 had been submitted to the finance ministry.
It was previously reported that the department intended to amend the legislation to enable the government to collect taxes from foreign companies operating in Malaysia under the digital economy.
Among other online applications that could see consumers having to pay the GST are ride-sharing services Uber and Grab, and accommodation service AirBnB.
Subromaniam is hopeful the amendments would be tabled in the upcoming Budget 2018.
He said the amendments would allow the government to tap a market segment worth “billions of ringgit”.