Sst Expansion For Imported Food Aimed At High Income Earners Says Anwar

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 The prime minister says food items such as avocados and cod fish are generally purchased by the wealthy.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the people should compare the expansion of the SST with the GST, which was even imposed on basic necessities like sugar and flour.PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has defended the government’s decision to expand the scope of the sales and service tax on imported products, saying it is targeted at high-income earners
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said food items such as avocados and cod fish, which were imported, were generally purchased by the wealthy.
“If the rich want to eat avocados, then they will need to pay a little more,” he said at an event in Ipoh, Perak, today.
On June 9, the finance ministry announced that a 5% to 10% rate will be imposed on non-essential goods from July 1, although basic necessities would not be taxed. Still, the announcement triggered brickbats.
Other food items which will be slapped with a 5% tax include king crabs, salmon and truffles.
Anwar also touched on the brouhaha over imported bananas, which were included in the revised list of items to be checked.
He said locally produced bananas like pisang emas and pisang rastali would not be taxed.
He urged the public to compare the expansion of the SST with the goods and services tax, which he said was even imposed on basic necessities like sugar and flour.
“Even though the rate was low, the rakyat had to bear the GST,” he said.
Anwar admitted that while it was easier to implement the GST when compared to the SST, he wondered if the government should tax fishermen, small-time farmers and street sweepers.
He said that whatever revenue was generated from tax collection would be used to increase the salaries of civil servants, social aid such as the “Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah”, and to develop infrastructure.
Anwar said the government had allocated RM13 billion for the STR cash aid for the B40 and M40 groups to help cushion the impact of the rising cost of living.
“I really hope the public understands this,” he said. - FMT

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