The Inland Revenue Board amassed an excess of RM139 billion in 2022 tax collection. According to Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, it set an all-time tax collection record.
To wit: the RM139 billion was a formal target easily surpassed, but Ahmad tantalisingly left hanging the actual accumulated collection.
The official tax collection amount would be left to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, presumably when the prime minister, who is also the finance minister, tables the reconstituted 2023 Budget next month. What does this new tax collection record mean? Paradoxically, it emerged from a stretch commandeered by the pandemic, where practically everyone grieved about losses in revenue, jobs, wages, business establishments and opportunities. And compounded by economic contraction and ringgit depreciation against the greenback.
But wait: the depression straitjacketed 2020 and 2021 when the lockdown was at its apogee. However, in 2022, the economy, as reported by the World Bank in June last year, rebounded positively with its growth credited to multipronged accomplishments like a saturated vaccination drive, full withdrawal of movement restrictions, 5.5 per cent economic growth galvanised by consumer spending, unemployment down to 4.1 per cent and rebuilt fiscal buffers that generated revenue collection and more efficient spending.
By that standard, the luminous figures furnished by the World Bank meant that the IRB had gotten its mojo back. But something more profound was at work: confidence returned, surging sky high to sustain that kind of financial assemblage.
However, here's the perplexing hindsight: if the economic environment was that rosy, how come the pre-general election administration stumbled in capitalising on a surefire campaign talking point? Actually, they did lather it. But the promise of a re-election-seeking administration dysfunctional with schadenfreude, backroom coups, weird bedfellows, betrayals, court clusters, leakages, corruption and incompetence killed the electorate's appetite.
Which is why Anwar marched triumphantly and was thrusted into office, but was burdened with the sins of past administrations and dealt a bad hand in distilling his unity government. But that shouldn't be a wet blanket on the goodies resonating from the record tax collection when Anwar retables the 2023 Budget.
Before we get too excited, remember that the national debt is currently at a staggering RM1.5 trillion. So, Anwar will be forced to outlay some of that extra tax money to repay a fraction of this generational debt.
There's no word yet on whether the dreaded but not necessarily bad Goods and Services Tax will be reintroduced, but if it is, we'll hope for a manageable rate that doesn't aggravate the cost of living and doing business.
Nevertheless, with prudence and the RM10 billion plug on procurement leakage, Anwar may just get the wiggle room needed to fix the economy and fortify it to weather the bad times ahead.