Govt maintains corporate tax at 24pc of profits

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has assured there will be no hike in corporate tax and will maintain the current rate at 24 per cent.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government could only reduce corporate tax from the current level if the country’s fiscal position is steady.

“I think the corporate tax rate can be reduced from the current 24 per cent. However, now is not the right time to do so .. not in short or medium term.

“We can only do so when the country’s fiscal position recovers and the government is able to significantly reduce its debt.

“The government’s message is that there will be no corporate tax raise for the time being,” he said at the Inland Revenue Board National Tax Seminar 2018 here, today.

Lim said the government would repay the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and income tax refunds totalling RM37 billion to companies and individuals, starting early next year.

“We can conclude that the GST and income tax refunds would kick off soon. We assure you the government will make the payment to those we owe.

“We (government) will not use even a single sen, instead we will return it (collection) as soon as possible to the rakyat,” he said.

Source: NST