KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic) has reiterated that the goods and services tax (GST) remains Malaysia’s better option for an efficient taxation and subsidy system.

The MCA president shared in a two-minute video on social media that he had done his research on the Budget 2025 and understood that the national debt has reached RM1.2 trillion.

"This is almost twice as much as in the pre-2018 era, but I want to repeat my stance on a better way to increase the government's income through taxes and subsidies, which is through GST.

"There is room for manipulation when it comes to the sales and service tax (SST).

"Which is why the government had to implement other efforts like e-invoicing to deal with it, which is quite cumbersome for everyone," he said in the video posted on his official Facebook page on Monday (Oct 28).

Dr Wee, said on the other hand, GST is fairer because it is a tax based on the expenses of those who spend extravagantly on luxury goods or luxury cars.

"It is that person who has to pay more and that is why this concept is fairer.

He said another proposal is to impose a petrol levy during road tax renewal every year.

"If a person can afford to buy a car for more than RM300,000 or RM500,000, they must be able to pay extra for example, RM2,600 a year as a petrol levy.

"The government can impose this levy on cars valued at more than RM300,000," he said.

Dr Wee said that as he has raised in Parliament recently, this method is easier compared to the two-tier subsidy system proposed by the government.

"Here only one subsidised petrol price is required across the country and the government can still collect funds from those who can afford it," he said.

He reminded that one should not forget that before 2018, the then Barisan Nasional-led government were dubbed tyrants for not lowering the petrol prices.

"In the past, it was Pakatan Harapan's promise to lower petrol prices," he said.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/10/28/gst-still-the-better-option-says-dr-wee