KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 5): Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government is not likely to introduce new tax measures in Budget 2020, which will be tabled in Parliament in October.

The government is definitely not going to impose inheritance tax in 2020, Lim told to reporters after opening the National Tax Conference 2019 today.

"It will be unlikely there will be any new tax measures [announced in Budget 2020], but definitely I would rule inheritance tax out, for the foreseeable future," he said.

Lim said the government would include contingency measures in Budget 2020 to insulate Malaysia from the potential adverse impact arising from the US-China trade war.

"In the event the trade war escalates or worsens, there will be a contingency package to try to insulate Malaysia as much as possible from any adverse impact," he said.

"There is (some) expectation that the trade dispute would end by the end of this year, but we need to have some sort of contingency," he said.

Earlier in his keynote address, Lim said the government remains confident of achieving its gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of 4.6% this year.

"We are aware that there is an element of concern about political uncertainty in Malaysia. We found that surprising, when that has been addressed repeatedly.

"I would like to emphasize again, that Malaysia has a stable political environment, we have a stable government, and we have a prime minister who is certain about the political future of the country," he said.