KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 – The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said today at Dewan Rakyat here about the indirect tax is forecast to surge by 42.2 per cent to RM53.3 billion, driven by the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). It said since its implementation, the number of registered companies have increased to 390,378 as of September 2015 compared with a lower initial estimate of 146,000 companies.

“The higher number of registrants will lead to improved tax compliance among companies. In 2015, GST collection is estimated at RM27 billion compared with the original projection of RM21.7 billion,” MOF said in the 2015/2016 Economic Report released here today.

The report is issued in conjunction with the tabling of the 2016 Budget today by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also Finance Minister. It said GST has also contributed to the increase in the share of non-oil revenue. The share of non-oil revenue has increased from 58.7 per cent in 2009 to 70 per cent in 2014 and is expected to increase to 80.3 per cent in 2015.

MOF said in 2015, Federal government revenue is expected to increase marginally by 0.8 per cent (2014:3.4 per cent) to RM222.5 billion while its share to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to sustain at 19.2 per cent amid lower collection from oil-related revenue and non-tax revenue.

The government said it will continue its effort towards reducing the reliance on oil-related revenue as the share of oil-related revenue had declined to 30 per cent in 2014. The share is expected to decline to 19.7 per cent of total revenue in 2015 due to a sharp drop in crude oil prices.

Pocket News

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