Town Hall wants tax rates to be lowered

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chinese Town Hall (PCTH) has expressed concern over the high personal income tax despite the existence of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

PCTH said that personal income tax and corporate tax rates should be gradually reduced since the GST has been successfully implemented in the country.

In a statement, PCTH said the country’s income tax rates were still high as compared to some South-East Asia countries.

PCTH, which has over 500 Chinese associations under its umbrella, is also concerned about the high salary expenses for civil servants, which stood at 29.7% of the total budgeted expenditure.

It said the number of civil servants had increased to 1.6 million or 11% of the nation’s total labour force.

“We urge the Government to step up efforts to improve the quality of civil service and increase productivity.

“They should also strive to reduce the number of civil servants,” the statement read.

On providing more affordable housing schemes to promote home ownership, PCTH lauded the Government’s plans.

In addition, it also added that the increase in the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) amount also helps to reduce personal and family financial burden.

“We also welcome the increase in development expenditure to RM46bil which will further enhance domestic infrastructure and public amenities,” it said.

The BR1M handout for households earning a monthly income of less than RM3,000 will be increased from RM1,000 to RM1,200.

For households earning between RM3,000 and RM4,000, BR1M will go up to RM900.

As for single individuals who earn below RM2,000, BR1M will be raised to RM450.

Several innovative measures, including “step-up” end-financing scheme and exemption of stamp duty, will be implemented as part of initiatives to promote home ownership.

The new end-financing scheme for potential buyers of Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA) will start from Jan 1 next year.

Under the scheme, the conventional ruling on the maximum loan offered based on salary scale will be relaxed to check immediate loan application rejection.

Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Penang chapter chairman Datuk Toh Chin Leong hoped the scheme for PR1MA houses would be extended to other types of housing in the country.

We urge the Government to step up efforts to improve the quality of civil service and increase productivity. Penang Chinese Town Hall