(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's government is mulling the imposition of capital gains tax and a one-off higher tax rate on companies that have earned extraordinary profits during the pandemic to boost revenue, according to Deputy Finance Minister Yamani Hafez Musa.
“Additional revenue from this one-off tax will be used to fund recovery activities and programs to help targeted groups,” he said in parliament on Wednesday.
The country's fiscal situation has been strained since last year year due to economic contraction, a drop in revenue and increased spending on healthcare and income support. The government has rolled out eight aid packages worth 530 billion ringgit ($126 billion) since 2020 to cushion the impact of the pandemic and is looking at ways to fill its coffers.
READ: Malaysia Will Consider Goods and Services Tax When Time is Right
On the suggestion of imposing tax on businesses whose profits grew manifold during the pandemic, Yamani said the government would seek the views of various stakeholders on the impact of such a move so as to not hurt the competitiveness of the country and the prospect of luring foreign investment.
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