Johari: Govt to rationalise spending in 2018 budget to churn out the best result

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will be rationalising some of its expenditure in the 2018 Budget to get the best result from the money spent, said Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.
"We will make sure every dollar we spend to run the government will be the most effective one," he told reporters after delivering his closing remarks at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum here today.
However, he said, the details of the rationalisation process was still being worked out.
On the tax on digital platform, Johari said, the government was studying a few options to ensure that the users would not be taxed.
"This is not just our problem, even the fully developed countries are also having problems of trying to find ways on how to tax all these digital platforms.
"They want to tax the digital platforms and not the users," he said.

Earlier, in his speech, Johari said, the nation's future economic agenda would be premised on sustainable and inclusive growth and the digital economy would play a significant role in achieving long-term sustainable growth.
"We are most fortunate to be living in a most exciting time, standing on the brink of the technological revolution, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, that will fundamentally transform the way we live, work and interact with one another," he said.
He said the era would witness digital disruption, automation, rise of the 'sharing economy' and development of other technology-driven innovations.
As of 2015, he said, the digital economy would contribute 17.8% of the nation's gross domestic product, almost close to the government's target of 18.2% by 2020, he said.
"With such encouraging figures, the digital economy can indeed act as a catalyst for the nation in increasing Malaysia's income to RM2 trillion in the next seven to eight years," he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak will table the 2018 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 27, 2017. — Bernama