Semua House

Malaysia budget 2013 was given today 28 september 2012 by YAB DATO’ SRI MOHD NAJIB TUN HAJI ABDUL RAZAK PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF FINANCE.

The following are the key points of Budget 2013, which was tabled by Najib in Parliament on Friday.

• Najib said that the budget is a gesture of appreciation to Malaysians and was based on the background of the economy being poised to expand 4.5%-5% for 2012, spurred by private investment.
• The allocation for next year’s budget is 251.6bil with the fiscal deficit at 4% compared with 2012′s deficit of 4.5%.
• Govt will reintroduce foreign company acquisition incentives & tax incentives for local service providers
• RM500mil will be allocated for the River of Life project to rejuvenate Klang River
• Halal Industry Fund will provide RM200mil to fund working capital for SMEs that produce halal products
• Govt to set up group insurance coverage scheme for hawkers and small business owners
• Tax incentives for private entrepreneurs in the oil & gas industry including 100% income tax waiver for 10 years, exemption of withholding tax & stamp duty
• Tax incentive for the Global Incentive for Trading (GIFT) programme to make Malaysia an international commodity trading hub in line with global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Approved commodity trading will include commodities such as in agriculture, refined raw materials, base minerals & chemicals. GIFT will see a 100% income tax waiver for the first 3 years of operation
• Tun Razak Exchange expected to attract 250 international companies and offer 40,000 jobs; 10-year tax exemption for companies with TRX status
• RM230mil in incentives for fishermen, RM2.4bil in subsidies and incentives for paddy sectors
• Security Commission will provide the framework for the issuance of AgroSukuk for companies involved in agriculture, For AgroSukuk, the government has allocated a double tax deduction for a 4-year period from 2012-2015
• RM350mil for all entreprenuers, including RM50mil for Indian entrepreneurs
• RM38.7bil to improve quality of education in the country with an additional RM500mil to training teachers in the core subjects of English, Bahasa Malaysia, Science and Maths.
• Tax-free incentives and grants for setting up of new nurseries and kindergartens. RM1.2bil allocation for pre-school development
• Total of 1bil to upgrade schools – RM400mil for national schools, and RM100mil each for Chinese, Tamil, mission, religious, boarding schools and MRSM
• RM1bil fund to be set up to help bumiputra SMEs to increase their equity share in the economy
• Minimum pension to be increased to RM820 for those who had served govt for at least 25 years. More than 50,000 pensioners afftected.
• Government will establish the Graduate Employability Taskforce with an allocation of RM200mil to strengthen employability of unemployed graduates under Graduate Employability Blueprint by end-2012
• The Government will allocate RM440 million to the Skills Development Fund Corporation (PTPK), to provide loans for trainees to undergo skills training
• SOCSO will allocate RM200mil to enable its 1.4 million members to undertake free health screening in Government hospitals or SOCSO’s panel clinics to detect non-communicable diseases.
• To further boost the production and utilisation of green technology-based products, the fund for GTFS will be increased by RM2 billion and the application period extended for another three years ending 31 December 2015.
• The Government has provided a launching grant of RM14 million to National Legal Aid Foundation for those who cannot afford legal representation. For 2013, an additional allocation of RM20 million is provided.
• Efforts to further reduce the crime rate will continue to be enhanced, with an allocation of RM591 million in 2013
• The Government will continue to ensure the rakyat enjoys good health services. For 2013, the Government will allocate RM19.3 billion for operating expenditure and development expenditure.
• A total of 500 women will be trained as board members under the Women Directors’ Programme
• The Single Mothers Skills Incubator Programme (I-KIT) will be improved to provide advisory services and training for single mothers in entrepreneurship
• The 1Malaysia Welfare Programme (KAR1SMA) under the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development will be allocated RM1.2 billion comprising assistance programmes for senior citizens, children and disabled workers as well as for chronic illnesses.
• To assist young ICT entrepreneurs, a New Entrepreneur Foundation (NEF) will be established with an initial allocation of RM50 million. The NEF will be the platform to provide training and guidance programmes.
• In addition, a Young Entrepreneurs Fund will be established with an allocation of RM50 million by the SME Bank. The soft loans, aimed at youths aged 30 and below, offers a 2% interest rate subsidy for loans up to RM100,000 with a 7-year repayment period.
• Through the Youth Communication Package, a one-off rebate of RM200 will be provided for the purchase of one unit of 3G smartphone from authorised dealers. The initiative is for youths aged between 21 to 30 years with a monthly income of RM3,000 and below. A sum of RM300 million is allocated benefiting 1.5 million youths.
• 50% discount on KTM Komuter fares extended to all Malaysians with a monthly income of RM3,000 and below and who travel by KTM Komuter.
• Government will allocate RM1.9 billion to build 123,000 affordable housing units in strategic locations in 2013. The initiative will be implemented by PR1MA, Syarikat Perumahan Nasional Berhad (SPNB) and Jabatan Perumahan Negara
• A total of RM500 million will be spent by PR1MA to build 80,000 houses in major locations nationwide with the selling price ranging between RM100,000 and RM400,000 per unit. Among the locations are Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Johor Bahru, Seremban and Kuantan.
• PR1MA will provide the Housing Facilitation Fund totalling RM500 million to build houses in collaboration with private housing developers. The house prices under this programme will be 20% lower than the market price and distributed through an open balloting system.
• To enable more Malaysian own their first residential property, My First Home Scheme, which was launched under the previous Budget, will be improved by increasing the income limit for individual loans from RM3,000 to RM5,000 per month or joint loans of husband and wife of up to RM10,000 per month.
• In a bid to curb speculation, the Government proposes the real property gains tax (RPGT) from the disposal of properties made within a period not exceeding 2 years from the date of purchase will be taxed at the rate of between 15% and 10% of disposal of property within a period of 2 to 5 years. For property disposed after 5 years from the date of acquisition, RPGT is not applicable
• BR1M also expanded to singles making less than RM2000/month. But amount will be RM250.
• Subsidy on sugar to be cut by RM0.20 per kg, effective from 29 September 2012
• RM386 million to ensure the prices of essential goods in Sabah and Sarawak as well as in Labuan are sold at lower prices through the opening of 57 KR1M; and to bear the cost of delivering products from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan including the interior areas.
• Individual income tax rate to be reduced by 1 percentage point for each grouped annual income tax exceeding RM2,500 to RM50,000. The measure will remove 170,000 taxpayers from paying tax as well as provide savings on their tax payment.
• Government to give school bus operators assistance of RM10,000 cash rebate and a 2% interest rate subsidy on full loans for the purchase of new buses to replace buses that have exceeded 25 years with new 12 to 18-seater buses.
• To ease financial burden of parents, the Government proposes that the existing tax relief on the children’s higher education amounting to RM4,000 per person be increased to RM6,000.
• PTPTN loans: Incentive – repayment of full loan from 1 October 2012 until 30 September 2013, a discount of 20% will be given on their loan. Regular repayment gets a 10% discount.
• Felda will implement and complete new generation housing projects amounting to 20,000 units for a period of five years on 5,000 acres of land in Felda areas. The project will cost a sum of RM1.5 billion
• The 1Malaysian Development Berhad Trust will allocate RM300 million to provide education grants and financial assistance to build rumah arau pre-school students in the interior of Sarawak, 1Malaysia Mobile Clinic and repair houses for the poor and needy
• One and a half months bonus for civil servants – of this total, half a month bonus was paid during the past Aidilfiltri, another half month bonus to be given end-of December 2012, and January 2013, respectively.

//Source thestar