Consumers’ Association of Penang president S M Mohamed Idris said many items on the exemption list should be taxed instead of being zero-rated.
FMT’s checks with the Customs Department hotline confirmed the inclusion of these costly items on the SST-exempt list.
The list of items proposed for exemption from sales tax is available at here
Idris also lamented that asbestos and “unmanufactured tobacco” were exempted. He said such items should be taxed to discourage their use, as they had adverse health impact.
“We hope once the list of taxable items is released, we can see more expensive and branded items being taxed,” said Idris.
In 2015, PKR had protested that luxury food such as lobsters had been zero-rated under the goods and services tax (GST) although they were consumed mostly by the higher income group.
During the Permatang Pauh by-election, PKR hosted a “lobster party” to show the people that lobsters were GST-exempt but sardines and instant noodles were not.
Malaysia Consumer Movement president Darshan Singh Dhillon said the government could charge a higher rate of tax on luxury goods. He said the burden on the less well-off should be mitigated.
The director-general of Customs, Subromaniam Tholasy, said earlier today that he did not expect consumer prices to rise as SST would be imposed on a narrow range of goods compared to GST and most items would be exempted.
The government has said that SST will generate RM23 billion less tax revenue than GST when it is introduced on Sept 1. Sales tax of 5% and 10% on selected goods and service tax of 6% replace the GST of 6% introduced on April 2015.