ALOR STAR: Pas today called for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be abolished, describing it as 'haram' or forbidden in Islam.
Pas Ulama chief Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed said the government should instead only impose tax on the rich, such as tax on corporate earnings and and profits from shares trading.
He stressed that it is inappropriate for the people to bear the expenses of the government while there are still huge leakages in its expenditure.
"The GST must be abolished because it is haram.
"At a time where there is still wastage in government expenditure, it is not right for the government to collect the tax from the low-income earners," he said in his keynote address at the Ulama assembly here, today.
Pakatan Harapan had come under fire after making a a U-turn on its earlier objection to the GST implementation.
PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar was reported as saying that the coalition would maintain the consumption tax system if it comes into power in the 14th General Election, but zero-rated.
The GST, which took effect on April 1, 2015, replaced the Sales and Services Tax of up to 10 per cent.