Govt stresses that Cukai Makmur will be one-off

KUALA LUMPUR: The government today stressed that the Cukai Makmur announced in Budget 2022 will be a one-off corporate tax on companies that make more than RM100 million in profit for the year of assessment 2022.

National Budget Office director Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican said the government is committed to ensuring that the utilisation of Cukai Makmur was transparently disclosed given that it is intended as a one-off tax to help support some of the increased requirements of COVID-19 health crisis.

"Our tax system is actually based on the company level. We do not look at the groups of companies as they will be taxed at an individual company level. In terms of utilisation, by law, all taxes go into a consolidated fund," he said on the BFM Radio's Breakfast Grille programme today.

Last Friday, the government unveiled an expansionary budget for 2022 to support the post-pandemic recovery, rebuild resilience, and catalyse economic reforms.

It plans to spend RM233.5 billion on operating expenses, RM75.6 billion on development expenditure, and RM23 billion on COVID-19 Fund, bringing total outlays to a record RM332.1 billion or 20.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year.

Overall budget support aims to revive real GDP growth to 5.5 per cent-6.5 per cent in 2022 through domestic demand.

The Cukai Makmur is a one-off tax measure introduced by the federal government in Budget 2022, whereby earnings above the RM100 million mark will be taxed at a rate of 33 per cent instead of the blanket 24 per cent rate previously.

"I believe there will be a couple of hundred companies that would be subjected to this tax. I do not think that it is easy to be too creative, and we hope that there will be a sense of corporate citizenry that will come into play that this is the time of need of the country and they would play their part to contribute," Johan said.

He also noted that the government was performing a balancing act through its allocation of RM332.1 billion for Budget 2022 as well as moderately reducing fiscal deficit to 6.0 per cent of GDP next year from an estimated 6.5 per cent in 2021.

"As our minister said, we do not want to prematurely withdraw fiscal support, and hence that is why it is important that Budget 2022 remains an expansionary fiscal stance to ensure that as we recover, it is really able to sustain the growth momentum," he said, adding that the government also aimed to boost jobs and income recoveries.

-- BERNAMA