KUALA LUMPUR: There are no plans to impose a windfall tax on companies making extraordinary profits, says Deputy Finance Minister I Mohd Shahar Abdullah.

       "We will not impose a windfall tax on the companies such as rubber gloves manufacturers, namely Top Glove which was specifically mentioned by several MPs.

       "Instead these companies made contributions of up to RM400mil to the disaster fund to help fight Covid-19 pandemic," he said when wrapping up his ministerial replies on the Windfall Profit Levy (Amendment) Bill 2020 in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Oct 12).

       Several MPs wanted to know if the government would impose a windfall tax on rubber glove manufacturers which raked in billions in profits due to the pandemic.

       Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian) noted that rubber glove manufacturer Top Glove enjoyed an 11-fold increase in profits during the pandemic period.

       Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Ind-Muar) wanted to know where the RM400mil in contribution was channelled to.

       Under Budget 2021, four leading rubber glove manufacturers in the country made contributions of RM400mil towards efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

       The four firms comprised of Top Glove Corp Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd.

       Mohd Shahar then gave a breakdown of the RM400mil, which consisted of RM75mil from Supermax Corp Bhd, RM50mil from Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, Hartalega (RM90mil), and RM185mil from three Top Glove subsidiaries - Flexitech (RM45mil), GMP (RM90mil) and Top Quality Glove (RM50mil).

       Mohd Shahar said the RM400mil was allocated to the disaster relief fund account and it was used to support the public health care systems, such as purchasing medical equipment, medicine, tests, lab tests, chemical sanitation and among others.

       He explained that companies generating lucrative profits create a "spillover" effect in the local economy, in terms of taxes and job opportunities.

       Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) then stood up and supported Mohd Shahar, which was welcomed by the Deputy Finance Minister.

       Mohd Shahar then proceeded with giving an example of Top Glove's operations, where it increased its factory operations from 46 to 48 from 2020 to this year.

       "They also opened companies overseas and increased glove production lines from 724 to 812 and most importantly, increased the number of workers from 21,000 to 22,000 individuals.

       "This is the spillover effect that I was talking about," he said.

       Earlier, Mohd Shahar also explained that the government must be balanced when it decides on the windfall tax levy, as it involves the investments of various companies.

       "We must be fair to industry players."

       The Bill was later passed by a voice vote.

       Meanwhile, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun adjourned the meeting which had met for 17-days beginning Sept 13.

       He noted that nine Covid-19 cases were detected throughout the period.

       "Fortunately the cases were not contracted here but from the community elsewhere and that there are no clusters in Parliament," he said.

       Dewan Rakyat is scheduled to meet again this coming Oct 25 to Dec 16.