The Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report on the issue of GST refund has not been tabled yet in parliament, but the opposition has reacted so enthusiastic to it.
For example, Khairy Jamaluddin, has stated that he will file a motion to sanction Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng for allegedly misleading the house on the GST refund robbery. If only the opposition were equally enthusiastic to sanction Najib Razak on the delays when they were the government.
When the PAC report is tabled next week, Malaysians should recall that the previous administration had not only stolen the RM19.4 billion meant for GST refunds but had also breached the trust of tax payers and damaged our economy.
The GST Act 2014 requires the government to refund the GST input tax to the tax payers within 14 days after the relevant papers are filed. However, it is a known fact that the previous administration did not honour this provision and instead chose to delay the payment of refund, some even up to 2 years.
The failure and delay to refund the GST input tax for such a long period of time is nothing short of a robbery because the previous administration was effectively taking and withholding money from tax payers by force, regardless of what the money was eventually used for.
As a result, over 120,000 companies and individuals in the business sector were affected. They were faced with serious cash flow problems, and this also directly contributed to the sharp rise of cost of goods during the GST era.
Since forming the new government, PH and the Finance Minister has shown strong commitment to resolve this issue. As of 30 April 2019, RM9.5 billion has been refunded to the GST registrants, thus honouring what the previous administration has failed to do.
Najib, Khairy, and the rest of the opposition cannot be ignorant of the above and pretending not to understand the plight of the tax payers on the ground. Till today, they have not admitted and taken any responsibility on the GST refund problem.