That would mean saying hello to an old friend.

In-depth study required

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said his administration is open to the idea of reintroducing the goods and services tax (GST), Malay Mail reported.

However, Muhyiddin said that the government would first need to study the proposal submitted by various parties including industry players, academicians and the general public.

The PM said during an interview with Bernama that it is important for the government to be thorough when studying the effectiveness of the multi-stage tax system, compared to the single-tier sales and services tax (SST) currently applied in Malaysia.

“Various aspects including strengths and weaknesses of the current SST, and the GST model that was introduced in 2014 must be taken into account to determine the viability of GST or any consumer tax model prior to it being implemented,” he was quoted as saying.'

On top of that, Muhyiddin said that the government must also take into account the potential impact the reintroduction of the GST will have on the economy and the livelihood of the people.

“I understand that there are those who are of the view that GST is a more efficient tax system and the collection is also bigger than SST. However, we have to study it meticulously.

“The Ministry of Finance had also looked into this matter but has not reached a decision. The government will announce once a decision is made,” he was further quoted as saying.

A GST of 6 per cent was first introduced in Malaysia in April 2015, before it was replaced by the SST in May 2018.