Did you know that prices of goods have been dropping after the GST was abolished? Frankly, I did not feel it (especially with all those latest tech stuffs launched but then again, they said for those items, prices went up because the ringgit dropped.) Coming back to today’s article, if you are smiling and wanting to know what are the items, just compare the items you have been buying for a long time from the supermarket. As for the actual items, do read the below.
Sales and Service Tax (SST) has pushed down prices of 291 items. Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah said a study by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) showed that the prices 70 per cent of the 417 items comprising six categories had gone down. “A study was carried out by KPDNHEP on the implementation of SST on price points of 417 items consisting of six categories, namely fresh goods (136), dry goods (25), packaged goods, cans, packs and bottles (59), beverages (25) food and baby items (49) and hygiene items (23).
He also said that even though the decline is for more items but it was not highlighted while the price increase of 27 percent of the items were highlighted and thus creating a perception that prices of all items have increased. Amiruddin said the government aims to collect RM22 billion from SST for 2019. (GST’s collection is about double of this number if it’s still around) Article in Thestar.com.my here.
Let’s be open about this. Assuming the grocery bill was RM500 previously and the GST was applied to EVERY ITEM, the total is RM30. Per year, that’s RM360. Assuming it’s now down to ZERO due to SST for EVERY item, then we have saved RM30 per month. Since 70 percent of the item reduced in price, we may have saved around RM21. Perhaps GST / SST may not be the deal clincher. Perhaps it’s more of increasing the number of higher paying jobs, increasing the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) numbers as well as enhancing our exports much further, especially Palm Oil based products. Hopefully we hear even more good news about all these other items too, beyond just the debate of why SST is better for the rakyat. Happy following.
written on 19 Dec 2018
Next suggested article: RPGT is to be calculated from the value in 2000,not before.
