This comes as a shocker especially with the recent GEG bill, as the government is doing its best to gain extra capital. It was mentioned that the government implemented this to reduce consumer purchases overseas and equalising the playing field for local businesses that are charged with tax.
Netizens aren’t too pleased as even cheap commodities may also be taxed. This could also be a part of the Covid and inflation recovery plan in order to help rebuild our country’s economy.
Many were criticising the government’s actions for this as most items purchased overseas can’t be found in Malaysia anyways. Once the GEG bill is passed, and tobacco is no longer a source of income for Malaysia, we may see more occurrences of other taxes like these.
