KUALA LUMPUR: The absence of prosperity tax in Budget 2023, which could have potentially shaved five to six per cent of the 2023 earnings of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI’s (FBM KLCI) component stocks, provided a huge relief for the corporate sector, Bursa Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said.
“Without prosperity tax being imposed, analysts have a consensus forecast earnings per share (EPS) growth rate of 20.1 per cent for 2023 compared to a negative 1.3 per cent for 2022.
“This augurs well for the capital market,” he said in a statement after Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tabled the Budget 2023 here today.
He said the enhanced commitment towards nature conservation and sustainable development must also be lauded.
“I am glad the prime minister is committed to an expansionary budget but with long-term financial sustainability and fiscal responsibility by reducing fiscal deficit to five per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 from 5.6 per cent in 2022 and further to 3.2 per cent in 2025,” he said.
He said this would be achieved, among others, by enhancing tax collection effectiveness and plugging leakages as well as broadening the revenue base with the reintroduction of tax on luxury goods and capital gains tax (CGT) on shares in unlisted companies.
He added that the latter is optimal as it would encourage more unlisted companies to list their shares on the stock exchange and spur growth in the capital market. – BERNAMA
