KUALA LUMPUR: Economists concur with the government's possible move to widen the tax base by introducing additional taxes in the upcoming Budget 2019 and to sell assets to increase national revenue without burdening the people.
They said the government should also look at increasing existing tax rates to obtain the revenue needed to pay off the nation's debts.
Maybank Kim Eng Senior Economist Chua Hak Bin suggested that property stamp duties on both local and foreign buyers should be raised.
He proposed for stamp duties on all property transactions to be without any threshold limits or exemptions as this would raise the amount of duties collected and contribute to an increase in revenue collection.
Chua was one of the panellists at a discussion session titled “Opportunities and Challenges for the New Malaysia” at the Malaysia: A New Dawn Investors' Conference here today He said the stamp duty, presently between 3.0 per cent and 3.5 per cent, was relatively low compared to other countries in the region, such as Singapore where the stamp duty is three times that of Malaysia's.
“I think a stamp duty is more functional. If you (government) want to impose capital gains tax on stocks it would be a bad idea.
“The money (investments) will shift to the other jurisdictions that doesn't have capital gains tax,” he said, adding that revenue collected could be used towards social infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Asian Development Bank Principal Economist Dr Bernard Ng said the government could possibly impose a new tax on fossil fuel or implement a carbon tax.
He said this would assist the country to achieve its pledge made in Copenhagen in 2016 of cutting carbon emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.
RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd Vice President and Head of Economics Research Peck Boon Soon said a tax on equity and inheritance asset should not be an option “These new taxes, if implemented, will be quite negative for Malaysia in the longer term as it will affect people's mindset of Malaysia as an investment destination,” he said. - Bernama
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
