SST stays, with GST-style tweaks to curb cascading effect, Dewan Rakyat told

Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong speaks during a sitting of the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

First Published: Wednesday, 07 Oct 2026 11:31 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Malaysia’s total tax collection this year has reached RM129.6 billion, up nine per cent from RM119.1 billion in the same period in 2025, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong said the increase was driven mainly by higher corporate income tax collection, alongside higher sales and service tax (SST) receipts from the food and beverage, insurance and logistics sectors.

“The government is committed to achieving its target tax revenue collection of RM343.1 billion for the full year 2026,” he said.

He was responding to Opposition Leader and Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, who asked the Finance Minister to state the country’s total tax collection this year compared with previous years.

In reply to supplementary questions on whether the government would return to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) or adopt a hybrid GST-SST model to eliminate cascading tax effects, Liew said Putrajaya would keep the SST framework.

He said the government was, however, incorporating elements of the GST mechanism so that businesses would not face double taxation or cascading cost pressures.

“Why do we want to continue with the SST system? Because the SST system is easier to understand by everyone and has a history spanning over 50 years,” he said.