Malaysia’s firms record sale increase thanks to zero-rate GST

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysian businesses have reported an increase in sales since the goods and service tax (GST) rate was set to zero at the start of this month, according to the local news website The Star Online.

President of Malaysia-Singapore Coffeeshop Proprietors’ General Association Ho Su Mong said its 20,000-odd members in Malaysia re­­corded between 10 percent and 20 percent in­­crease in patronage.

“There is a psychological effect to it; more people are coming in with higher expenditure power,” he said.

In the long run, the general costs of goods would decrease by more than 6 percent as the GST had affected different stages of the supply chain, he added.

At the Council of Eminent Per­sons’ meeting with entrepreneurs on June 18, former governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (the Central Bank of Malaysia) Zeti Akhtar Aziz said she hopes Malaysians would continue to benefit from the zero-rate GST.

“More people have been saying that there is greater vibrancy (in economy) now and people are starting to spend money,” she said.

Meanwhile, President of Malaysian Automotive Associa­tion Aishah Ahmad said car industry players were enjoying brisk sales too.

Most car companies received a lot of bookings and delivery re­­quests, she said, adding that car distributors are trying their best to fulfill the demand of customers.

However, the zero-rated GST has a relatively smaller effect on other industries such as sundry goods and daily necessities. -VNA