He said it was incumbent upon the government to be meticulous in studying the effectiveness of the multistage tax system in contrast with the single-tier consumption tax applied in Malaysia currently, which is the sales and services tax (SST), and the value-added consumption tax applied by many countries.

“Various aspects, including the strengths and weaknesses of the current SST against the GST model, introduced in 2015, must be taken into account to determine the viability of GST or any consumer tax model prior to it being implemented,” he said during an interview with Bernama and local television stations here today.

He said the study was needed to determine the overall impact of such taxes, if implemented, on the economy, the people’s cost of living as well as the ability to combat the black economy.

“I understand there are those who are of the view that GST is a more efficient tax system and the collection is also bigger than SST. However, we have to study it meticulously.

“The finance ministry had also looked into this matter but has not reached a decision. The government will make an announcement once a decision is made.”

He added that any form of consumer tax to be introduced must be simple to administer and not increase business costs.