KUCHING, May 17: ‘Specific revenue and expenditure measures’ to cushion the shortfall from the removal of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) shall be announced soon.
A day after announcing that the GST would be zero-rated by June 1, 2018, the Finance Ministry said the Sales and Services Tax (SST) will also make a comeback to make up for the shortfall in revenue.
“The fiscal reform initiative is already underway. The shortfall from GST which is to be zero-rated effective 1 June 2018 will be cushioned by SST. Expenditure reduction will begin with rationalisation, efficiency measures and reduction in wastages,” the ministry said in a statement today.
The ministry also said of significance, oil prices have been higher than the USD52 per barrel estimated for Budget 2018.
“This provides fiscal buffers for the immediate future. Fiscal responsibility, transparency and governance will be a paramount consideration in rolling-out the fiscal reform.” — DayakDaily
