KUALA LUMPUR: Tax policies and strategies must play a role in encouraging corporations to embrace and implement environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz (pix).
He noted that Malaysia has adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes priorities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 45 per cent of Gross Domestic Product by 2030.
“We are also committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and have urged all government-linked investment companies, as well as government-linked companies, to set similar net-zero targets,” he said during the keynote speech at the 51st Study Group on Asia-Pacific Tax Administration and Research (SGATAR) Annual Meeting 2022 here today.
To support this effort, he said, the government is working towards carbon taxation and studying the feasibility of a carbon pricing mechanism.
“We have also proposed extending the Green Investment Tax Allowance (GITA) and Green Income Tax Exemption (GITE) for eligible green activities, and we expanded these to include solar and battery energy storage systems,” he said.-Bernama
