KUALA LUMPUR: The government will reduce the 2023 fiscal deficit to five per cent from 5.6 per cent last year.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the finance minister, said the government was determined to achieve a sustainable fiscal deficit level in the medium term, with an increased target of 3.2 per cent in the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025.
"Meanwhile, the Fiscal Responsibility Bill will be presented to Parliament this year to ensure that the economic policy is more transparent to avoid any possibility of continuous overreach in the future," he told the Dewan Rakyat during the 2023 Budget tabling today.
Anwar added that the government would also take a progressive approach in terms of targeted subsidies and structural tax to look after the underprivileged.
Among the initiatives introduced include an increase in Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) dividend to 5.1 per cent per unit for depositors with less than RM30,000 savings.
"Meanwhile, those with savings over RM30,000 will receive a 4.6 per cent dividend per unit," he said.
He added that the government had not considered re-implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) because of inflation in food prices, which currently recorded an increase of five per cent.
At the same time, electricity tariffs would be maintained for all domestic consumers and small- and medium-scale enterprises. However, large corporations, except those in the food security and agriculture sectors, would see an increase in their tariff.