Nazir Razak: Why no supertaxes on glove companies?

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd (BPMB) chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak is perplexed as to why no supertaxes are imposed on Malaysia's glove companies which have made huge profits from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I could never understand why in Malaysia, glove companies made billions of super profits from the pandemic, yet were not imposed supertaxes to help pay for the cost of the pandemic," he asked.

According to the former CIMB Group Holdings Bhd chairman, taxation systems have to be more progressive so as to afford more effective safety nets and redistribution policies.

Nazir, who is also the brother of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, said this in his keynote address at the Genesis Forum 2021 held virtually, today.

That was one of the several thoughts he shared on moving towards a more sustainable and fairer financial system.

Nazir also opined that governance frameworks should encourage, or even ensure, greater diversity on boards, not just in gender but also in age, ethnicity, and background so that companies are more in tune with the society.

"One of the last things I proposed as CIMB Group chairman was to always have a young, under 30, member of the board.

"Unfortunately, I ran out of time," he lamented.

Nazir retired as CIMB Group chairman in October 2018 after serving the country's second largest commercial bank by assets for 29 years, including as group chief executive for 15 years and group chairman since 2014.

-- BERNAMA