Chow asked for a review of the Federal Government’s allocation system for the money to be used for various programmes and projects to further boost development in Penang.
THE Penang government has called on the Federal Government to return a significant portion, at least 20%, of tax revenue collected in the state to further fuel its economic growth.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow asked to review the Federal Government’s allocation system for the money to be used for various programmes and projects to further boost development in Penang.
“If the state can receive 20% of the tax collected, this would mean an additional allocation of more than RM1bil annually,” he said at the Penang Legislative Assembly sitting in Lebuh Light.
Chow said every year, the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) collects between RM7bil and RM8bil in taxes.
“This is only from the IRB. There are other federal taxes which add up. For example, if the IRB collects RM8bil each year from Penang, 20% of that is RM1.6bil,” he said.
Chow was responding to a question from Gooi Hsiao-Leung (PH-Bukit Tengah) on the steps taken by the state to collaborate with the Federal Government to take advantage of the national semiconductor strategic plan to develop local talents and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Penang.
He added that while Penang may be at the forefront of the semiconductor sector to attract investors, the other sectors such as property, transport, services and recreation were also in need of funding while each played a big role in enhancing development in the state.
Chow said the 20% tax money, if returned, could be put to good use to further develop Penang and fulfil the requests of the people.
“It can be used to boost transportation links, the service as well as property and recreation sectors.
“This is besides the projects announced by the Federal Government,” he said, adding that there was a need to review the tax distribution for states.
