Anwar, a fiscal wizard?

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: Arguably the biggest challenge confronting Anwar Ibrahim in his first 100 days as the prime minister was tackling Malaysia’s crippling RM1.2 trillion national debt to prevent it from derailing the Malaysian economy.

Last month, Anwar himself drew the nation’s attention to the massive debt – RM1.5 trillion if you include government liabilities – and stressed it was imperative that a solution be found.

His chance to show the nation he could tackle it was at the re-tabling of Budget 2023 on Feb 24. Anwar was under pressure to reduce the budget or fiscal deficit which amounted to RM99 billion or 5.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), based on the original Budget 2023 tabled last October.

Like the proverbial magician, he successfully pulled a rabbit out of the hat when he proudly announced Budget 2023 will have a lower budget deficit of RM94 billion or 5% of GDP.

Anwar’s iteration of Budget 2023 contained revenue raising measures such as new taxes on luxury goods, excise duties on vapes and e-cigarettes, and raised income tax rates for high-earners.

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