SST expansion will impact livelihoods, threaten SMEs, says SUPP man
KUCHING (July 4): The expanded Sales and Services Tax (SST) will impact people's livelihoods and threaten the survival of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), said a Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) man.
SUPP Kuching Youth member Raphael Yong said the revised SST not only increases the tax rate to 8 per cent but also broadens its scope to include services such as leasing, construction, finance, private healthcare and segments of the education sector.
He said certain non-essential goods are also now subject to tax rates as high as 10 per cent, and warned of a chain reaction of price hikes that will further burden the public already grappling with high living costs.
'Many SMEs are overwhelmed by system overhauls, cost transfers and regulatory uncertainty, while ordinary citizens are ultimately the ones paying the price each time a new tax adjustment is made,' he said in a statement yesterday.
Yong lamented that prices of eggs and chicken had risen by more than 13 per cent over the past two years, and vegetables by 4 to 8 per cent.
He also said that food inflation overall had reached 4 to 5 per cent, but did not cite official statistics.
'These figures reflect the erosion of household purchasing power,' he said.
Yong said the people have no qualms about the government increasing national revenue provided it is genuinely for the betterment of the nation and its citizens.
He further pointed out that issues such as corruption, leakages in public spending and a bloated civil service continue to strain government finances, with little sign of improvement.
Given this, he urged the Ministry of Finance to stop using the term 'reform' as a pretext to introduce new taxes.
'True reform should focus on easing the people's burden and restoring public confidence in the economy, not covering up poor fiscal management through increased taxation,' he said. Kuching lead Raphael Yong SST SUPP Youth
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Borneo Post
2 hours ago
- Borneo Post
SST revision does not justify hotel rate hikes, says Finance Ministry
MoF clarifies that the SST revisions do not include any change in the service tax applied to hotel accommodation or F&B served at hotels. – Pixabay photo KUALA LUMPUR (July 4): The Ministry of Finance (MoF) indicated that the Sales and Service Tax (SST) does not warrant the hotel room rate increases asserted by some hotel associations. The ministry clarified that the SST revisions effective July 1 do not include any change in the service tax applied to hotel accommodation or food and beverages (F&B) served at hotels. 'The SST revisions do not affect basic daily goods but may affect hotels indirectly through the expansion of service tax to cover rental on commercial properties and also sales tax on selected food items such as premium seafood and imported fruits. 'However, these indirect impacts are unlikely to translate to a 10 per cent to 15 per cent increase in costs faced by hotels,' MoF told Bernama when asked about a possible hike in hotel rates due to the extended SST. The ministry was responding to claims by hotels that they would need to raise room prices by 10 to 15 per cent following the revised tax structure. The MoF added that if hotels proceed to raise rates on the pretext of the SST, the government, through the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), will examine the matter to prevent unreasonable price increases. 'If there are hotels that do raise rates by 15 per cent on the pretext of SST, the government, through KPDN, will review the impact of SST on these hotels to ensure there is no element of profiteering,' it said. – Bernama F&B hotels kpdn lead MoF SST
Malaysiakini
3 hours ago
- Malaysiakini
SST revision does not justify hotel rate hikes, MOF says
The Finance Ministry indicated that the sales and service tax (SST) does not warrant the hotel room rate increases asserted by some hotel associations. The ministry clarified that the SST revisions effective July 1 do not include any change in the service tax applied to hotel accommodation or food and beverages (F&B) served at hotels.
Sinar Daily
3 hours ago
- Sinar Daily
SST revision does not justify hotel rate hikes
Hotels claim that they would need to raise room prices by 10 to 15 per cent following the revised tax structure. 04 Jul 2025 05:32pm The ministry clarified that the SST revisions effective July 1 do not include any change in the service tax applied to hotel accommodation or food and beverages (F&B) served at hotels. Photo for illustrative purposes only - Canva KUALA LUMPUR - The Finance Ministry indicated that the Sales and Service Tax (SST) does not warrant the hotel room rate increases asserted by some hotel associations. The ministry clarified that the SST revisions effective July 1 do not include any change in the service tax applied to hotel accommodation or food and beverages (F&B) served at hotels. "The SST revisions do not affect basic daily goods but may affect hotels indirectly through the expansion of service tax to cover rental on commercial properties and also sales tax on selected food items such as premium seafood and imported fruits. "However, these indirect impacts are unlikely to translate to a 10 per cent to 15 per cent increase in costs faced by hotels,' MoF told Bernama when asked about a possible hike in hotel rates due to the extended SST. The ministry clarified that the SST revisions effective July 1 do not include any change in the service tax applied to hotel accommodation or food and beverages (F&B) served at hotels. The ministry was responding to claims by hotels that they would need to raise room prices by 10 to 15 per cent following the revised tax structure. The MoF added that if hotels proceed to raise rates on the pretext of the SST, the government, through the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), will examine the matter to prevent unreasonable price increases. "If there are hotels that do raise rates by 15 per cent on the pretext of SST, the government, through KPDN, will review the impact of SST on these hotels to ensure there is no element of profiteering,' it said. - BERNAMA More Like This
