50% tax exemption on rental home

KUALA LUMPUR: For the first time in 60 years, the government yesterday announced a 50 per cent tax exemption on rental income received by resident individuals not exceeding RM2,000 per month.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also Finance Minister, when tabling Budget 2018 in Parliament yesterday, said the exemption, which is effective from the year of assessment of 2018 to 2020, was aimed to promote rental of residential homes.

“The government will also formulate the Residential Rental Act to protect the landlord and tenant,” he said.

Meanwhile, Najib said the government would continue to intensify efforts to increase homeownership for the rakyat with an allocation of RM2.2 billion for various housing projects.

He said the projects comprised the construction of 17,300 unit of People’s Housing Programme, 3,000 unit of People’s Friendly Home under Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) and 210,000 unit of houses under Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia (PR1MA) with prices RM250,000 and below.

“For this, RM1.5 billion is allocated for the period of two years,” he said.

The Prime Minister said 25,000 units of 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing Programme (PPA1M) would be completed next year and another 128,000 units were at various stages of construction.

Also to be constructed were 600 units of MyBeautiful New Homes (MyBNHomes) scheme for B40 households in Terengganu, Pahang, Melaka, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak, as well as Orang Asli settlements; and 2,000 units under MyDeposit Programme to assist down payments as well as MyHomes programme to enable developers to provide more affordable homes.

“A sum of 200 million is allocated for maintenance and refurbishment of houses, including the 1Malaysia Maintenance Fund,” he said.

To encourage the construction of more affordable homes, Najib said the step-up financing scheme introduced by PR1MA would be extended to private housing developers subject to certain criteria.

On abandoned housing projects, the Prime Minister said stamp duty exemption for loan agreements and letter of consent to transfer, would be given to rescuing contractors and original owners of abandoned projects, effective Jan 1 next year to Dec 31, 2020.

To enable public servants to own their dream homes, Najib said the Public Sector Home Financing Board (LPPSA) would allow financing by the agency to construct property on wakaf land starting Jan 1, 2018.