PERMATANG PAUH, May 3 — Penang will not change its position that it must pay the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on its spending unless a Barisan Nasional federal minister provides written guarantee of its exemption, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Lim was responding to state BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow who yesterday disputed his claim by saying Penang not pay the GST on its administrative expenditure that consisted of salary and emoluments.

The DAP secretary-general also rejected Teng’s claim that it could reclaim GST paid on the state’s development and infrastructure projects from the Customs Department.

"We were told otherwise so I want a BN minister to give us a written guarantee that the state government does not need to pay GST at all," he said in a press conference at the Wat Chantararam Thai Buddhist Temple here.

The Penang lawmaker said Teng is not an accountant and likely did not understand what is included in the state’s spending despite his remarks.

"The administrative expenditures do not only consist of salaries and emoluments but also included supplies," he said.

Lim pointed out that Penang’s total administrative expenditure for 2015 is almost RM900 million, not just the RM100 million that the state is taxable under the new scheme.

He added that he will not base the state’s decisions simply on Teng’s claim that it need not pay the RM47.9 million that Lim earlier estimated Penang would be liable for in terms of GST contributions.

Pakatan Rakyat has been banking heavily on the GST issue to win support for the Permatang Pauh by-election.

Lim has made several announcements that the state was facing an additional burden by having to pay GST for development and infrastructure projects.