Study on middle income earners perception, readiness, acceptance and purchasing behaviour towards goods and services tax (GST) implementation: Case of Maybank and CIMB bank in Kedah and Perlis

One of the main sources for government revenue is tax and Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a part of it. GST is very significance to the government revenue and it also contributes to the economic growth. In Malaysia, the government has implemented the GST in 2015. Since the announcement of GST implementation, the consumers start to worry about the taxes burden that they have to face. Consumers especially those in the middle income and below are concerned about price increases on basic needs and they cannot avoid the impact of GST because the coverage of the taxes are huge. Hence, this study is responsible to analyze middle income earners consumer perceptions, readiness, acceptance of GST and their purchasing behaviour after the GST implementation. Thus, middle income earners who work at Maybank and CIMB bank in Alor Setar and Perlis were chooses as the respondents for this study. The finding shows that the middle income earners still cannot accept the GST implementation and their consumptions behaviour were significantly changes due to the declining of purchasing power. This study was expected to form a general understanding regarding consumer’s acceptance on GST. It also hopes that the government can make new strategies in order to reduce the burden faced by middle income earners so that they can survive in today challenging economic situation.