Gearing up for Malaysia GST

ON April 1, 2015, Malaysia will replace its sales and services tax with a goods and services tax (GST). As another source of revenue, it may help to address the persistent budget deficit and growing debt that Malaysia faces today.

However, current projections suggest collections from the GST next year will amount to only RM690 million (S$267 million). This is after considering various government reliefs and a growing list of items to be zero-rated and exempt under the new GST regime to help lower-income Malaysians cope with a rising cost of living.

More noteworthy is that Malaysia is bringing forth radical changes to its tax landscape, shifting from a reliance on direct to indirect tax for tax revenues similar to most countries in the region.