Prices up never go down...

GST: Greedy coffee shop owners told to stop cheating KUCHING: A number of coffee shops in the state that are not affected by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) raised prices of their drinks yesterday to fleece customers. Their acts were so sickening that Sarawak Federation of Coffee Shop and Restaurant Merchants’ Association chairman Hii Hung Yii and Sibu Coffee Shop and Restaurant Merchants’ Association chairman Tong Ing Kok saw it fit to issue verbal warnings. “Most coffee shop owners in Sarawak still maintain the same price as before the implementation of GST. There are, however, some who use the excuse of GST to raise prices on their own. “To those coffee shop owners whose turnover is not more than RM500,000 annually, I want to warn them not to do so as it is against the law. “They may be punished under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act if caught,” Hii told The Borneo Post yesterday. Sarawak Federation of Coffee Shop and Restaurant Merchants’ Association has more than 4,000 members across the state. Meanwhile, Tong was also fuming that some coffee shop owners in Sibu had also raised the prices of their drinks despite numerous warnings from the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumerism (KPDNKK) and the association. “Coffee shops have been warned not to increase their prices within the first six months of the implementation of GST. “But some ignored the warnings. “What has GST got to do with them? What these unscrupulous traders are doing is bad for all of us and are tarnishing our image and reputation, especially their own. “What they are doing will not bring them any good. Customers will complain. The KPDNKK officers will also notice and conduct investigation on them. “At the end, they will be the ones in trouble,” said Tong. Tong said some coffee shops could charge GST because of the size of their business. For this category of coffee shops, the six per cent GST would be clearly stated on the receipts. “If a customer were to be told that a coffee shop charges GST, the customer must ask for a receipt. If the coffee shop cannot produce the receipt, it means the coffee shop is not paying GST. “I urge all our members not to cheat the people. Government officers are monitoring closely and at this time when the GST has just been implemented, everyone is on high alert. “The trick of these unscrupulous traders will definitely be exposed, and they will face the full force of the law.” said Tong.

How do we implement GST with less than GST tax agents of 3,000?

How do we implement GST with less than GST tax agents of 3,000? There are 400,000 clients registered for GST -big and small and largely SME with turnover between RM500,000 to RM2,000,000. Are such 400,000 taxpayers/businesses suddenly so clever to comply with the GST which is complex in Malaysia? I believe it if BN/UMNO greedy ILLEGITIMATE government under Najib implement on 1 April, 2015, most of these sme business owners would end up paying lots of unsustainable penalties and likely end up in jail. Then who would be in business? If we have 400,000 clients, each client would need minimum 2 staff well versed in GST to handle this function, then we need 800,000 trained staff to implement GST. Such companies - many accounts done by owners themselves/partimers with some part time assistance from junior people - would be hard pressed to deal with daily chores and GST compliance is a burden. How to cope with business matters now burdened with more penalties? If the Government is wise, and they think software is the answer to everything, then it is damned wrong. Each business has its own intricacy and software costs is draining much cash resources even before GST is started and the solution of GST is yet untouched and unsolved. If the Government is wise, there should have trained a few hundred thousands of graduates in GST and subsidise them (for at least two years) to work for firms in need of such staff to comply. Afterall all the GST registered companies collect on behalf of the Government, that revenue under GST. So now it is too late and many businesses may just decide to give up to avoid heavy penalties and jail sentences- not once but all the way daily when offence can be committed in compliance. When too many businesses give up, the economy would be adversely affected by various impacts namely prices across the board would rise (demand and supply), jobless people would increase, more families can be destitute, debts would rise, crimes would rise, ill health in society would exacerbate, and other social ills like break up of families and children go without education and other problems could be endless. The worst can be in Sabah. Hence I advocate zero rate for Sabah for 5 years until Sabah catch up with Malaya. We all need to learn from mistakes aplenty but GST would generate a new set of worse mistakes. Joshua Y. C. Kong PM of IGGG M. http://fresh-air-in-iggg.blogspot.com

tough deals

Action on dodging firms begins; RM1.2b target in Sabah revenue from GST: Customs Published on: Tuesday, March 03, 2015 Kota Kinabalu: A special all-out operation called Ops GST has been launched by the Customs Department to trace companies which failed to register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) before the Feb. 28 deadline. State Customs Director Datuk Dr Janathan Kandok (pic) said these companies would be compounded RM15,000 and registered according to the existing procedure. Those who fail to settle the compound within two weeks can be fined up to RM30,000 or jailed up to two years or both. Janathan said the operation is part of a nationwide effort to trace companies which "forgot" to register despite being given warnings and leniency to do so months ago. "In Sabah, a total of 18,625 companies out of the estimated 20,000 eligible companies had registered for GST as of Feb. 28 and a total of 1,375 companies have yet to do so," he told the State-level launch of Ops GST at the Wisma Kastam here. The operation would be conducted in Kota Kinabalu and major towns such as Tawau, Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Keningau, among others. "This is a joint effort which involves 16 teams of officers and personnel from three divisions in the Customs Department, namely the GST Division, Compliance Division and Enforcement Division," he said. On another note, he said the Customs Department was targeting to collect a total of RM1.2 billion in revenue from GST, levy, import tax and export tax this year. The department also for the first time invited a lion dance troupe to add joy to the launching ceremony in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration. In KUALA LUMPUR, the Customs Department has issued compounds of RM15,000 to 100 companies for failing to register. Companies with an income threshold of RM500,000 had to register for the GST which comes into effect on April 1. Customs Department GST Director Datuk Subromaniam Tholasy said it is important for companies to register as the department needed to provide a level playing field for businesses. "By not registering for the GST, the firms have a competitive advantage. This will create a lot of confusion and is unfair to those compliant businesses," he said. "The system is in place. But my main concern is the preparation of the businesses, as failure to understand the GST guidelines will result in the companies facing problems, especially in the early stage of implementation," he said. Due to this, Subromaniam advised business owners to read and understand the relevant guidelines available on the Customs Department's GST online portal or contact any of its offices, should they need further clarification. As of Feb 28, there were 345,376 companies registered for the GST. The initial registration deadline was set for December last year but extended to Feb 28.

SANDAKAN, Feb 27 — A total of 325,279 companies have registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the deadline ends tomorrow, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said. The Finance Ministry is satisfied with the number although about 40,000 companies have yet to do so as it has achieved the target of getting 240,000 companies to register for the tax regime

Feb 27 — A total of 325,279 companies have registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the deadline ends tomorrow, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said.
The Finance Ministry is satisfied with the number although about 40,000 companies have yet to do so as it has achieved the target of getting 240,000 companies to register for the tax regime, he said.
“We want the remaining companies to sign up tomorrow to avoid being slapped with a RM15,000 compound,” he told reporters after attending a briefing on the GST, Budget 2015 and current issues here today.
Businesses have been reminded to register for the GST since June 1 last year and the deadline had been extended from December 31 to tomorrow, he said, adding that the deadline would not be extended further as the government had given businesses ample time to do so.
Ahmad said the government, with the aid of consumers associations, would monitor the prices upon the implementation of the GST on April 1. — Bernama
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/over-325000-companies-have-registered-for-gst-ahead-of-tomorrows-deadline-m?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed#sthash.wgWWz7MP.dpuf

same message of fear of GST in 2015

what a mistake in this news of GST?

Gaming firms in Sabah to absorb the 6pc GST

Published on: Tuesday, February 10, 2015

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KOTA KINABALU: Gaming companies in Sabah will absorb the six per cent Goods and Service Tax (GST) after its implementation in April 1, said Datuk Dr TC Goh.
"We have been directed by the Ministry of Finance who is our licensed authority and with the consent of the Customs Department to bear the six per cent GST.
"Therefore, the 6 per cent tax will be part of our expenses…we will absorb it or the other way around is to convert into the total revenue making it 2.4 per cent," he said on Monday.
However, Goh who is the President of Everise Ventures Sdn Bhd (EVSB), the managing company of Sandakan Turf Club (STC), explained that under the special scheme set by the government, they will deduct the pool betting duty, gaming tax, the prize they need to pay to the winner, pay out ratio, pay out winning prize money from their total revenue.
"If our total nett is positive, then we're required to pay six per cent tax to the government but if it is negative, then we're not required to pay," he said, adding that they are not allowed to carry forward any draws in terms of losses.
Goh also explained that punters pay 15 per cent sales tax imposed by the State Government. "So we will collect the tax from the punters and pay it to the government. Therefore, you can see that the number forecast industry is selling RM1.15 per unit whereas in peninsula, they do not have this.
"There is sales tax in Sarawak but they only pay 7.5 which means RM1.75 but we are selling it for RM1.15. Therefore, this is an uphill task for the number forecast industry in Sabah generally," he said, adding that 2015 will be a challenging year especially after the implementation of GST.
According to him, the various high taxes imposed by the Federal and State government, Customs Department as well as Inland Revenue Board will definitely affect their sales revenue.
"There will be less competition among licensed operators compared to the illegal ones. "Therefore, we urge the government and of course the authority to look into this problem and take necessary actions against those illegal operators to protect legal operators and government revenue.
"As you can see, we pay a lot of taxes and if our revenue drops then the government will receive less taxes as well," he said, stating that they are not allowed to increase their selling or change the prize payout unless they received an approval from the government.
"STC is one of the operators in Sabah and we have Sports Toto as well as Diriwan 88. Out of these three, STC is the only company which has one product, which is 4D. The rest of the operators have three or more products.
"So we are among the smallest and the only Sabah-based company," he said, stating that the increase of products is subject to the government's approval.
Goh also said that the number forecast is a sunset industry as it is preferred among adults above 50.
"Malaysia is one of the oldest countries to operate the industry but we are getting fewer punters among youngsters.
"Youngsters don't really like the 4D game. They prefer other games such as soccer, machine based and others. That's why it's a sunset industry because it will affect our annual revenue when we have lesser senior citizens.
"As a local operator, we have a lot of social obligations to perform so this is going to be quite challenging," he said

why haram?

Jahara reports Ustaz for saying GST is haram

February 2, 2015

Penang opposition leader lodges report against an Ustaz for misleading Muslims about GST in his Friday sermon.

BUTTERWORTH: Penang state legislative assembly opposition leader Jahara Hamid today lodged a police report against a religious teacher who allegedly said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was illegal for Muslims during his lecture at the Bagan Lebai Tahir mosque here.
Jahara, who is also Teluk Air Tawar state assemblyman, said the report was lodged because his evening sermon last Friday had caused confusion on the implementation of GST.
“I received a complaint from a member of the congregation who claimed the ‘ustaz’ (religious teacher) in his lecture stated that it was ‘haram’ (illegal) to impose GST on Muslims and (GST) can only be imposed on non Muslims.
“The lecture delivered by the ustaz contradicted the explanation on Islamic laws on GST issued by the Islamic Religious Department (Jakim) on the GST implementation in Malaysia,” she said when contacted here today.
The police report was made at the Teluk Air Tawar police station.
Jahara also urged the Penang State Islamic Religious Council and Penang State Islamic Religious Department to investigate the ustaz’s sermon that was presented last Friday.
“I have also requested the Penang Islamic Religious authorities to ensure all mosques and surau in the state are not being used by irresponsible quarters to create confusion and doubts among Muslims.” he said.
- BERNAMA