KUALA LUMPUR: The government will consider focusing on non-tax revenue as another alternative to increase national income apart from tax revenue, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He acknowledged that non-tax revenue would require additional effort which includes the transformation of government-linked investment companies (GLIC) to ensure increased domestic investment.
This (transformation) would lead to an increase in the collection of non-tax revenue which contributes to the national income, said Anwar.
“In 2023, investment income represented 65 per cent of non-tax revenue.
“Currently, the highest non-tax revenue is from investment income including dividends from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), and Khazanah Nasional Bhd which on average, contribute around 50 per cent to the national revenue,” the prime minister said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Anwar was responding to a proposal from Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah (PN-Paya Besar) who suggested that governance in government-linked companies (GLCs) and GLICs should be improved to reduce “bleeding costs” to give good returns to the national revenue.
Non-tax revenue consists mainly of licences and permits, petroleum royalty, interest and returns on investment