KUALA LUMPUR: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) should not be increased but instead, sterner action should be taken against those who avoid paying the tax.
Malaysian Association of Tax Accountants president Abdul Aziz Abu Bakar said this can increase the government's revenue without increasing the GST rate.
"There are still plenty of businesses which do not pay their dues, namely those in the black economy as well as those who did not register for the tax.
"For this, the enforcement to capture these groups should be increased, and not the tax," he said.
Aziz said this would in part be fair for other taxpayers.
"This will also be fair for others who have been diligently paying their tax.
"The implementation of GST has prevented the country from being in an uncomfortable economic situation," he said.
Aziz was one of the speakers at the Gerakan Post Budget 2017 Public Forum at Menara PGRM, today.
Gerakan organised the forum to facilitate an open discussion between participants and the panel speakers.
The forum was also joined by Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) chief executive officer Ng Yeen Seen and Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Isis) Malaysia fellow Firdaus Rosli.
Present at the forum was Gerakan secretary-general Datuk Liang Teck Meng.