Govt may need to impose 'windfall tax' on companies recording extraordinary profits - Dr Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR: The government may need to impose a windfall tax on companies that recorded extraordinary profits during the COVID-19 pandemic, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

According to him, the tax will enable the government to increase its financial resources as well as help the people who are affected and increasingly squeezed following the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This windfall tax is not an unusual thing... this may help the government because in this time of emergency and COVID-19 problem, we have to spend a lot because we need to help the poor, to give out extra income and we need to feed people who have no food.

"So all these need to be done and require money. But if we follow taxes normally, there will be less (economic) activities and the government will also get less taxes," he said as a member of the forum panel entitled 'Can the Malaysian Economy be Saved?' which was posted on Facebook Reset Malaysia today.

Dr Mahathir said the government was also advised to focus fully on fighting COVID-19 and restructure the distribution of allocations from non-essential items to more important items.

Asked whether the government should reintroduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to increase the country's coffers, the former prime minister said introducing a new tax in the current situation would not alleviate the problems faced by the government.

-- BERNAMA