“A capital gains tax would not stop the capital outflows we have seen recently and the prospects of such a tax might make investors, especially foreign investors, wary of the Malaysian market. “Malaysia doesn’t have capital gains taxes at the moment and this is one of the few advantages it has over regional competitors. Williams concurred with this, adding that nothing has changed since then to make a windfall tax more appealing. He also said the proposed windfall tax will not raise “as much as people think.”“Apart from glove makers and Covid-19-related activities, there are not many excess-profit targets actually. Williams emphasised that tax reform, whether capital gains tax or the goods and services tax, should be put off until the economy has recovered.

Source: The Star September 23, 2021 23:03 UTC