Malaysia’s fiscal consolidation strategy challenging, says World Bank

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia should explore new sources of revenue to improve its fiscal position, the World Bank said, describing its strategy of achieving fiscal consolidation by reducing spending as challenging.

Malaysia’s revenue level remains low and trails comparative peers, the World Bank said in its latest Malaysia Economic Monitor today.

Government revenue is expected to resume its declining trend in 2023 on moderating crude oil prices, it said.

“Consideration should be given to streamlining reliefs and broadening the tax base of personal income tax and by enhancing the consumption tax framework,” it said, adding that Malaysia continues to under-collect in personal and consumption taxes, lagging behind its peers.