PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he stands by the Sales and Service Tax (SST) and will ensure that it will not burden the people.
SST, which is expected to come into force on Sept 1, will save the people RM20 billion as it will only collect half of what the Goods and Services Tax (GST) generates.
Dr Mahathir said the GST collects RM42 billion while SST will only collect between RM20-25 billion. Based on this calculation, it was obvious which was more burdensome.
He said claims that SST will increase prices of goods was untrue.
He said there was no basis to these claims as certain items were exempted from the tax while others would only be affected by 10, six and five per cent, not 16 per cent as a whole.
"A lot of items that were affected by GST previously won't be affected by SST.
"This means the people will be less burdened (once SST is implemented)," he said in a press conference after chairing Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia's Supreme Council meeting at its headquarters today.
Pakatan Harapan had listed abolishing the GST as one of its election promises ahead of the May 9 polls.
The consumption tax, which was introduced in April 2015, was zero-rated on June 1, with PH saying it would re-introduce the sales and services tax (SST) to partly offset any shortfall in revenue.
Critics of the GST said the tax had led to inflation and higher prices.