KUALA LUMPUR: Corporate tax in Malaysia can be reduced if the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is revived, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam).
According to Dr Wee, Malaysia has one of the highest corporate taxes in the region at 24%, compared to Singapore (17%), Brunei (18.5%), Cambodia (20%), Vietnam (20%), Thailand (20%), and Indonesia (21%).
“The absence of the GST causes our corporate tax rate to be one of the highest.
“Foreign companies that intend to open a business will run to countries with lower corporate tax rates,” said Dr Wee while debating Budget 2024 in Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 7).
Dr Wee also said the GST was previously implemented in 2015 so that Malaysia could reduce its corporate tax rate to be on par with Singapore.
Dr Wee said he previously proposed that the GST can be revived with several improvements, such as reducing the 6% rate to 4%, improving the tax refund mechanism, and among others.
“If you don’t like the name (of GST), just change the name.
“For the interests of the people and the country, let’s move on and bring back the GST,” said Dr Wee.
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post Tuesday, the MCA president also said he had urged the government to offer a permanent waiver of the merchant discount rate (MDR) for those who accept payments via the DuitNow QR code.
"No maintenance cost is incurred for banks when DuitNow QR is used. Instead for cash transactions, banks will have to set aside costs for the operation of ATMs or even bank tellers," he said.
He also Said he had raised the issue of the increase in Sales and Services Tax (SST) from 6% to 8 %.
Dr Wee also suggested that the government consider increasing the personal and dependent exemptions for income tax payers as this has not been reviewed since 2010.
"Thirteen years have passed and inflation has increased significantly. I think it is appropriate for the government to increase the amount of tax relief to RM12,000, which is equivalent to RM1,000 a month, to reflect the real life scenario facing the people," he said.
Dr Wee hoped the government would take into consideration his proposals on behalf of the publi and said his full speech would be uploaded to his Facebook page soon.
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