DESPITE the economic slowdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Penang government has managed to collect RM1.6bil in revenue from 2020 until Sept 30 this year.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the components of the total revenue collection included tax revenue, non-tax revenue and non-revenue receipts.
Under the tax revenue component, it showed an increase during the three-year period from 2020 until September this year, he added.
“The breakdown is RM130.07mil in 2020, RM133.33mil in 2021 and for this year RM142.41mil.
“As for non-tax revenue, the collection in 2020 was RM254.22mil, RM474.23mil in 2021 and RM225.99mil in 2022.
“The RM474.23mil collected in 2021 is an increase of 85.64% from 2020.
“And for the non-revenue receipts component, RM82.84mil was collected in 2020, RM84.68mil in 2021 and RM64.79mil in 2022,” he said.
Chow said the state government also increased total revenue collection for 2021, which amounted to RM692.24mil, compared to RM467.13mil in 2020.
“We expect the state’s projected revenue this year to increase as well because we are heading towards endemicity.
“The current total revenue collection is RM433.19mil as of Sept 30 this year,” he said in reply to a question by Nor Hafizah Othman (BN-Permatang Berangan) during the Penang state assembly sitting in Lebuh Light, Penang.
Chow said tax collection was the main item under this component, which recorded an increase in collection from 2020 and was the main contributor to the amount of tax revenue.
He said the state government collected RM123.47mil in 2020, RM131.62mil for 2021 and RM140.21mil as of Sept 30, 2022.
“The second highest contributor to our tax revenue is entertainment duty whereby we collected RM5.98mil in 2020, RM0.8mil in 2021 and RM1.63mil as of Sept 30, 2022.
“The collection of entertainment duty was affected in 2021 and 2022 because of the tax exemption from April 2021 to June 2022,” he elaborated.
On a supplementary question by Opposition Leader Datuk Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Nor (BN-Sungai Dua) regarding tax arrears, Chow said the state agencies implemented several measures over the years to ensure the recovery of tax arrears.
For flood-related issues, the state government does not compensate such victims for now, he said.
“However, during a recent TYT Disaster Relief Fund meeting, its management committee was asked to get information on whether other states that were facing flash floods needed aid,” he said in reply to Mohd Yusni Mat Piah (PN-Penaga).
Chow said that with him now being the MP of Batu Kawan, an area prone to floods, he would take action and adopt a holistic approach.
He said the state would work with agencies including the Drainage and Irrigation Department and Public Works Department to come up with short-and long-term solutions.