Limited options in coming budget, 91% expenditure is fixed

The government is unlikely to cut tax rates due to the RM1 trillion debt and liabilities as well as lower revenue collection from SST.

PETALING JAYA: The government may only have limited options in its pursuit of slashing national expenditure in its upcoming first-ever federal budget, which is likely to be neutral to mildly expansionary.

Despite the ongoing measures to trim public expenditure, Affin Hwang Capital Research expects the government’s total expenditure to still increase in 2019, albeit marginally by 0.3% to RM280bil.