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 companies like rubber glove 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 the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said when wrapping up his ministerial reply on the Windfall Profit Levy (Amendment) Bill 2020 in Dewan Rakyat.

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

       Among the MPs was Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian), who said that Top Glove enjoyed an 11-fold increase in profits during the pandemic period.

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

       Under Budget 2021, four leading rubber glove manufacturers in the country contributed RM400mil towards efforts to fight the pandemic.

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

       Shahar then gave a breakdown of the amount, which consisted RM75mil from Supermax, RM50mil from Kossan Rubber, Hartalega (RM90mil) and RM185mil from three Top Glove subsidiaries – Flexitech (RM45mil), GMP (RM90mil) and Top Quality Glove (RM50mil).

       He said the RM400mil was allocated to the disaster relief fund account and it was used to support the public healthcare system with the purchase of medical equipment, medicine, tests, lab tests and chemical sanitation among others.

       He also said companies that generated lucrative profits create a “spillover” effect to the local economy in terms of taxes and job opportunities.

       Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) then stood up and supported the deputy minister.

       Shahar cited an example of Top Glove’s expansion where the company 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 people. This is the spillover effect,” he said.

       Earlier, Shahar said 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,” he said.

       The Bill was later passed by a voice vote.

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

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

       “These cases were not contracted here but from the community elsewhere. There are no clusters in Parliament,” he said.

       The Dewan Rakyat is scheduled to meet again on Oct 25 to Dec 16.