Objective - Since the 70s, the Malaysian government has been focusing on sustainable development to improve society's economic well-being. In September 2015, Malaysia reaffirmed this commitment with the other United Nations countries by putting the 2030 Agenda for 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into action and focusing on the bottom 40% households (B40). Unfortunately, the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 1 April 2015 and followed by the Sales and Services Tax (SST) 2.0 on 1 September 2018 has impacted all income groups, especially the B40, with a claim that indirect tax is regressive and burdensome (MIER, 2018). Hence, the present study aims to analyse SST 2.0 tax burden using the elements of the guiding principles of good tax policy. Methodology/Technique - In this quantitative study, the researchers distributed questionnaires to the B40, M40, and T20 groups throughout Malaysia. Evidently, the government should consider reducing the SST 2.0 tax rate to minimise the tax burden of all groups of income earners based on the ability to pay. Findings - Furthermore, the efficiency of tax administrations is vital to strengthen the enforcement function in controlling the prices of goods and services. The findings can provide useful feedback to policymakers and tax authorities in designing a progressive indirect tax. Novelty - The policymakers should also consider the new SST model and propose relevant social safety net programmes to enhance economic well-being and eradicate inequity. Type of Paper - Empirical. Keywords: SST 2.0; GST; Tax Burden; B40; Guiding Principles of Good Tax Policy. JEL Classification: H31.
Since the 70s, the focus of the Malaysian government on sustainable development is to improve the economic well-being of its society. In September 2015, Malaysia reaffirmed this commitment with the other United Nations countries by implementing the 2030 Agenda for 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on the bottom 40% of households (B40). Unfortunately, the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 1st April 2015, followed by Sales and Services Tax (SST) 2.0 on 1st September 2018 impacted all income groups especially B40. The public especially B40 claimed that indirect tax is regressive and burdensome (MIER, 2018). Hence, the present study aims to identify the existence of SST 2.0's tax burden assessing through the relationship between elements of guiding principles of good tax policy. Keywords: Sales and Service Tax, enforcement, regressive, tax burden, fairness.
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