KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 15): Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said today the Malaysian government expects its fiscal deficit to contract to an average of 2.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the near term.

Lim said the government had in 2018 registered a fiscal deficit of 3.7% and that it is on the right track to achieve its 2019 fiscal deficit target of 3.4%.

"To ensure the economy continues growing, the government is now targeting a (fiscal) deficit of 3.2% for 2020," he said in his speech at the National Tax Seminar 2019 here today.

Lim said the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRB) needs to make use of big data technology to detect taxpayers who are still not registered in the country's tax network.

He said the IRB's revenue transformation plan will strengthen the IRB's tax system to increase tax compliance and raise the country's revenue collection.