KUALA LUMPUR, 29 Aug 2008: These are the highlights of the 2009 Budget tabled in the Dewan Rakyat by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today. The theme of the budget is A Caring Government.
- Malaysian economy grew 6.3% in the second quarter of 2008; to expand by 5.7% in 2008
- Tax exemption for employees on staff benefits such as subsidised interest on housing, motor vehicles & education loans
- Bills of mobile & fixed line phones as well as internet paid by employers to be tax-exempted
- Government to provide RM3 billion soft loan facility under public transportation to finance acquisition of buses and rail assets; to be administered by Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd
- 50% reduction in toll charges for all buses, except at border entry points, for two years effective 15 Sept 2008
- RM35 billion to improve efficiency of public transportation from 2009 to 2014
- Farmers to benefit from proposal to abolish import duty on fertilisers & pesticides
- Home ownership among civil servants to be boosted by extension of housing loans tenure to 30 years from 25 years
- Government housing loan insurance panel to be expanded to all eligible insurance companies from only five insurance companies now
- Excise duties on cigarettes up three sen to 18 sen per stick. Duty for 20-stick pack now up 60 sen
- Highest marginal tax rate for individuals to be cut to 27% from 28% effective year of assessment 2009
- Middle income group to benefit from cut in marginal tax rate to 12% from 13%
- New investments by operators of four-star & five-star hotels in Sabah and Sarawak to enjoy pioneer status with 100% income tax exemption or investment tax allowance of 100% for five years
- Venture capital companies to enjoy five-year tax exemption for investing at least 30% of their funds in start-up, early stage financing or seed
- Accelerated capital allowance for purchase of ICT equipments can be claimed over one year instead of two years
- Import prohibition on cranes used at ports to be removed. Import duty for the cranes cut to 5% from 20%
- Travel allowance for commuting to work provided by employers to be fully tax deductable; employees receiving such an allowance be given tax exemption of up to RM2,400 per year
- One month bonus for civil servants, subject to a minimum of RM1,000. Payment to be made in two instalments; to be paid in September and December 2008.
- Import duty and sales tax on solar photovoltaic system equipment – removed
- Import duty and sales tax on intermediate goods such as high efficiency motors and insulation materials – removed
- Sales tax on locally manufactured solar heating system equipment – removed
- Sales tax on locally manufactured energy efficient consumer goods such as refrigerators, air conditioners, lightings, fans & TVs – removed
Exemption of 100% import duty & 50% excise duty on new hybrid CBU cars, with engine capacity below two 2,000 cc litre to be given to franchise importers. The exemption is for two years - Tax rate on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to be reduced to 10% from 15 % – Bernama
