GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow will bring his proposal for the federal government to return 20 per cent of taxes collected from the state in the forthcoming meeting with the Menteri Besar, Chief Ministers and Premier for further discussion.
The meeting is scheduled to be held in July.
He said the issue would first be brought to the state executive council meeting for discussion first.
"We want to see a change in terms of revenue distribution to the state.
"As such, I will pursue this matter in the forthcoming Menteri Besar, Chief Ministers and Premier meeting in July," he said in response to a supplementary question by Goh Choon Aik (PKR - Bukit Tambun) at the state legislative assembly sitting here this morning.
Goh had said that the amount Penang contributed to the federal coffers and what the state received in return was imbalanced.
He had asked Chow what the state government was doing to demand for more funding.
Yesterday, Chow, when answering to a supplementary question from Gooi Hsiao-Leung (PKR - Bukit Tengah), had said that he wanted the federal government to return 20 per cent of taxes collected from Penang so that the money could be used for various programmes and projects to further boost development in the state.
He said if the state could receive 20 per cent of the taxes collected, this would mean an additional income of more than RM1 billion annually.
He said the funds could be put to good use to further develop Penang and fulfil the various requests by the people.
As such, Chow said there was a need to review the tax distribution for states.
Constitutional law expert Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, however, said Penang's proposal would require a significant constitutional amendment, and that such an amendment would require buy-ins from all the states.
He said while the aspiration to redraw fiscal federalism in Malaysia was valid, the state could request but they "cannot demand."
He added that the proposal could be achieved in one of two ways — by a new federal policy, or by a new law or a constitutional amendment which would require a two-third majority vote in the Dewan Rakyat.
Chow said he accepted Shad's view on the matter.
He also said that he understood the situation the federal government was with regard to this matter.
"I don't know if this proposal will be viewed seriously or I will be 'blacklisted'.
"Even when I attended the National Finance Council meeting, we were told about the huge debt the country is currently facing," he added.
Earlier, Chow told the august house that, in principle, the state's finances were in a stable position.
He said, until April 30, the state government recorded revenue of RM258.72 million compared to expenditure of RM235.19 million, a surplus of RM23.53 million.
"However, based on the state's budget tabled and approved in the state legislative assembly last November, the state is looking at a RM514.52 million deficit.
"This is because of the state's commitment to improve the people's quality of life.
"Nevertheless, the state government is continuously looking at new strategies to increase the state's revenue," he said.