Impose capital gains tax on the rich now, Hassan urges govt

PARLIAMENT | Government lawmaker Hassan Abdul Karim (Harapan-Pasir Gudang) today urged Putrajaya to start imposing capital gains tax on multimillionaires in the country.

In his speech debating the 2026 Supply Bill, the outspoken MP said the time has come for the government to take such measures so that wealth “is not concentrated in the hands of only a few”.

“Recently, I read that the prime minister said it is immoral for the government to tax the poor.

“So, in the same spirit, I want to argue here that the time has come for the government to start imposing tax on the wealth owned by the rich people.

“Meaning the multimillionaires, the ‘maha jutawan’, the billionaires,” he said.

Increasing number of millionaires

Hassan further suggested that the threshold for capital gains tax should begin at those who own assets of at least US$1 million, or about RM4.2 million, according to the current exchange rate.

According to him, there were 85,126 millionaires recorded in Malaysia in 2022, and the number was expected to increase every year.

“This figure is expected to rise to 164,839 in 2027.

“So, the time has come for us to impose ‘cukai kekayaan’, or capital (gains) tax, on the rich,” Hassan added.

The government had introduced the capital gains tax in 2024, albeit not fully, as it was only imposed on the sale of unlisted shares by companies.

Putrajaya had also mulled imposing a high-value goods tax on products such as jewellery and luxury watches, but later abandoned the idea and instead folded it into the revised sales and service tax (SST).

Reporting by Hariz Mohd, Alyaa Alhadjri, N Faizal Ghazali

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