Abolishing GST, not an easy task: World Bank

(Bernama) – Abolishing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will not be an easy task as it will require raising other taxes, reducing expenditure or run on a deficit, says World Bank Poverty and Equity Senior Economist Kenneth Simler.

“You need to look at it as a whole picture and see if you really need to eliminate GST because the tax is a source of revenue for the country.

“And, if you want to eliminate that (GST), what is the strategy than if you do not have (a source of) revenue?” he told reporters after a forum and panel discussion on the Malaysian economy, in conjunction with the release of Bank Negara Malaysia’s 2017 Annual Report and the Financial Stability and Payment System Report on Wednesday.

The one-day forum was organised by the Malaysian Economic Associations and co-hosted by the central bank.