Exempt electricity from SST hike, urges Dr Wee

The Star

Electricity bills should be exempted from the sales and service tax (SST) hike, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.  The MCA president said on Thursday (Feb 29) after the Finance Ministry announced that an 8% SST charge will be imposed for electricity usage of more than 600kWH per month, effective March 1, 2024.  Read more at http://tinyurl.com/jey4m33e  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 My most important argument is why the electricity price has been rising repeatedly.

00:07 One day in January last year, the ICPT price, although the price did not rise,

00:13 but because the ICPT price has changed from 37 cents to 21 cents per kilowatt hour,

00:22 and finally dropped to 17 cents, but the impact of the electricity bill is 30 to 40 percent.

00:33 This again causes all parties, including the investors, including the central bank, to raise the price.

00:44 This is something we cannot deny.

00:47 And last July, the electricity bill for more than 1,500 kilowatts per hour, which is more than 700 ringgit,

00:58 was raised by almost 30 percent at once.

01:03 Starting this year, on January 1, the price rose 5 to 6 percent for the 600 kilowatts per hour category

01:11 to 1,500 kilowatts per hour, including the use of RM220 to RM700.

01:17 This is what caused the price to rise three times in a short period of time.

01:22 The argument I bring is that if the price rises three times, we will experience a price increase,

01:29 because each will lower the cost borne by consumers.

01:35 That is the problem.

01:36 So my argument is, do not raise the SST rate.

01:42 For the poor B40s, they may not have been affected all this time,

01:50 but they are not affected in the context of electricity bill.

01:55 But they do not run away from the impact of the increase in SST rate,

02:05 or the increase in prices.

02:08 That is the problem.

02:10 So I want to emphasize, what was announced yesterday,

02:14 water is not affected,

02:17 and electricity is only stated as the basic requirement,

02:24 that is, the price of 600 kilowatts per hour is not affected.

02:28 That is, if your bill is less than RM220, you will not be affected, like a single-use electricity bill.

02:34 But what is not stated is commercial.

02:38 That is still affected.

02:40 And now with the hot weather, many families have increased their income.

02:44 This is the problem.

02:45 And I think the M40 is narrowed.

02:48 And the business community cannot run away.

02:51 It will be affected by 2%.

02:53 I strongly urge the government,

02:55 I am worried that this aspect will increase the price of goods.

03:00 [End of Audio]

03:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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