Malaysia will not remove windfall tax on palm industry: state media

MALAYSIA’S finance ministry will not abolish a windfall profit levy on the palm oil industry, state news agency Bernama reported.

The ministry is open to periodically studying the tax rate and threshold for levying the tax to time to take into account the cost of palm oil production, Bernama reported late on Thursday (Oct 26), citing the finance ministry’s written response to parliament.

Planters in Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil, have for years asked the government to reassess the tax rate and the threshold for the windfall profit tax.

Malaysia imposes a windfall levy of 3 per cent on palm oil prices above RM3,000 (S$860) per metric ton in Peninsular Malaysia and above RM3,500 per ton in Sabah and Sarawak – the largest palm oil producing states in the country.

Last month, Malaysia’s plantations and commodities ministry said it was reviewing the windfall tax and hoped to complete it next year. REUTERS