Tax share dividends to raise revenue

Free Malaysia Today

Bringing back GST would provide only marginal gains, but a tax on the rich through share dividends would provide much more revenue, says Barjoyai Bardai.  Read More:   Laporan Lanjut:   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Rn6xEV Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2OCwH8a  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2OKJbc6 Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3cpbWKK Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/2VUfOrv Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3B1e8lN Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/39dBDbe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #GST #SST #CGT #Tax

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 No one enjoys paying taxes,

00:03 but they are vital to fund essential services

00:06 and development.

00:07 Of late, people have been talking about one tax

00:09 in particular, the Goods and Services Tax, or GST.

00:13 First introduced in 2015, the GST was replaced

00:16 with the Sales and Services Tax, or SST,

00:19 just three years later.

00:20 Now there are calls for the GST's return

00:23 to boost the government's ability

00:24 to fund initiatives for the Rakyat.

00:26 But there are concerns that it's simply not the right time

00:29 to reintroduce the consumption tax.

00:31 Even Prime Minister Anwar has signaled

00:33 that subsidies must be better targeted first

00:36 before the GST's return can be considered.

00:39 So with the GST effectively ruled out for now,

00:42 what can the government do to increase its revenue?

00:45 Economist Barjoya Bardai believes Malaysia's

00:47 existing single tax system for corporations

00:50 needs to be reformed.

00:51 - Under single tax basis, we tax the profit of the company

00:56 and then when the company distribute the profit

00:59 to the shareholders, it is not taxed anymore.

01:03 - In other words, it's time to tax share dividends

01:06 just like they do in the United States and Europe.

01:09 - But in US, for example, there's double taxation.

01:12 In Europe, there's double taxation

01:13 where when the shareholder get their dividend,

01:17 they will again be taxed because it is an income.

01:21 - For the record, the government has introduced

01:24 a capital gains tax on unlisted shares.

01:27 This will take effect in 2024

01:29 and could offer an additional boost to revenue.

01:32 Regardless of new taxes or revenue streams,

01:34 economist Ye Kim Leng says they must go hand in hand

01:37 with good governance.

01:38 - The major revenue increase will likely come

01:43 from enhancing the administrative efficiency

01:49 of the tax collection efforts.

01:54 So that will help for 2023 revenue enhancement measures

01:59 will have to be accompanied by efforts

02:05 to increase spending efficiency

02:07 and also in terms of appropriate allocation

02:12 to various spending needs that have a greater

02:15 multiplied effect.

02:16 - As Malaysia navigates its fiscal journey,

02:18 striking the right balance between revenue generation

02:21 and expenditure will be key.

02:23 Danish Rajareza, FMT News.

02:26 (upbeat music)

Transcript

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