PUTRAJAYA – The government’s proactive implementation of various initiatives is set to accelerate the country’s economic recovery and growth, said Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali.
The initiatives include the RM305 billion economic stimulus packages, namely the PRIHATIN Economic Stimulus Package, Prihatin SME+, the National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) and the Prihatin Supplementary Initiative Package (Kita Prihatin), as well as Budget 2021, he said.
The initiatives have helped to spur economic recovery, as evidenced by the declining unemployment rate, which fell to 4.7% in the third quarter of 2020 (Q3 2020) from 5.1% in Q2 2020, as well as the improvement in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), he said.
The CPI measures changes in the price level of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households.
Mohd Zuki said 2020 has been a difficult year as the country was tested with the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenge of restoring the economy affected by the subsequent implementation of the movement control order (MCO) to curb its spread, apart from the political crisis.
In his opening speech in conjunction with the virtual National Tax Conference 2020 and the Budget 2021 Seminar today, Mohd Zuki said the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) expected the country's economic growth to improve at 6.9%, 7.8% and 6.5%, respectively, next year.
He said for Budget 2021, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to be at RM1.45 trillion, with a growth rate of 7.0%.
“The country's revenue is estimated at RM237 billion and direct and indirect tax collection is expected to increase by RM21 billion compared to tax collection in 2020.
“Revenue from tax is very important for the country, as almost 74% of the country’s revenue comes from taxes,” Mohd Zuki added.– Bernama, November 24, 2020
