Friday, September 7, 2007
Malaysia Budget 2008
Reported from The Star:
Single-tier tax system, effective from the year of assessment 2008. Under a single-tier tax system, profits are only taxed at the company’s level and dividends received are exempted from tax. Further reduction of the corporate tax to 25% in 2009. Effective 1 January 2008, private valuation of property will be allowed for purposes of assessment in stamp duty payment. This will enable the transfer of property to be executed pending the final valuation from the Valuation and Property Services Department. All professionals and consultants to be subject to service tax. To encourage more public listed companies to undertake M&A, stamp duty exemption will be extended to 31 December 2010. To further stimulate the property sector in particular housing, the Government proposes that a 50% stamp duty exemption on documents of transfer be given for the purchase of one house of not more than RM250,000 per unit.
The active participation of students in co-curriculum activities, such as uniformed bodies, associations and clubs as well as sports, is important for character building and developing leadership qualities among students. To ensure every student has the opportunity to participate in uniformed activities, the Government will provide a free uniform for one activity for school students from families with a monthly income of RM1,000 and below. The examination fee for Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia and the annual fee for primary and secondary schools will be abolished. Beginning the 2008 school session, the Text Book Loan Scheme will be provided to all students, irrespective of their families’ income and with no restrictions on the number of eligible children. With this, 5.7 million students will benefit from this Scheme compared with 4.5 million students currently. With these measures, schooling in Malaysia is now completely free.
The Government recognises that a number of primary and secondary schools have been funded and well managed by trust and charitable bodies. To support their efforts, the Government proposes that these schools be given income tax exemption. This exemption will benefit particularly Chinese and Tamil schools, as well as religious schools.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tabled the Budget 2008, themed "Together Building The Nation and Sharing Prosperity", in Parliament on Friday.
Abdullah, who is also Finance Minister, said the budget is focussed on three main strategies: Enhancing the nation's competitiveness, strengthening human capital and ensuring the well-being of all Malaysians.
Following are highlights in Budget 2008 tabled:
# posted by Dr Roland Chia @ 5:06 PM 
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