Latest news with #BN-AyerHitam
The Star
6 days ago
- Business
- The Star
No plans to review tax relief for insurance policies
THERE is no intention to review the tax relief amounts for personal and life insurance policies, even as the government is continuously improving the income tax reliefs eligible for individual taxpayers through a targeted approach and special reliefs, says Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. 'Through Budgets 2023, 2024 and 2025, a targeted approach has been implemented by increasing the tax relief amounts for medical treatment expenses, child care allowances, persons with disabilities, and education and medical insurance. 'Besides increasing the eligible tax relief amounts, the government, through Budget 2025, has also expanded the scope of existing tax reliefs, such as extending care and treatment for parents to include grandparents and broadening the scope of health screenings to include the purchase of self-examination health equipment and fees for disease detection tests,' he said in a written parliamentary reply. Earlier, Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) had asked the Finance Ministry whether it will review the reliefs associated with personal and life insurances that remained at RM9,000 and RM3,000, respectively, for the past 15 years. Dr Wee, who is also MCA president, said the tax relief amount did not reflect the effects of inflation and the current cost of living. Anwar also said the government introduced special reliefs for specific purposes under Budget 2025. This included relief on interest payments for housing loans for the purchase of the first residential home. 'Through this relief, the purchase of a home priced up to RM500,000 qualifies for a tax relief of up to RM7,000, while a tax relief of up to RM5,000 can be claimed for the purchase of a residential home priced between RM500,001 and RM750,000,' he added. Anwar also said other improvements to tax reliefs for individuals include reducing the tax rate by 2 percentage points for the taxable income range between RM35,001 and RM100,000 starting from the assessment year 2023. 'This tax rate reduction can provide an additional disposable income of up to RM1,300 per year for about 2.4 million taxpayers, including the middle-income group. 'In addition, the government is committed to improving tax administration and services to enhance efficiency and service levels for taxpayers,' he said. Anwar also said that any future reviews or revisions to income tax rates or individual tax reliefs need to be conducted carefully to avoid jeopardising the country's fiscal position, adding that any changes in tax policy must also align with international taxation practices and not adversely affect the country's global commitments.
New Straits Times
21-07-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Azalina: Whistleblowers should follow procedure, not go straight to the media
KUALA LUMPUR: Whistleblowers should report through official channels, not the media, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said warned, saying bypassing procedures risks national security and prosecution. "I want to address something here, many people ask why whistleblowers are prosecuted when they go to the media. "There are procedures in place where whistleblowers should not go directly to the media. The information must first be brought to the responsible agency so that its authenticity can be verified. "One of the reasons for this is to prevent abuse of the system. Secondly, we want to ensure that state secrets are not disclosed by whistleblowers, especially in matters of national security. "It is also to ensure that due legal process is followed. If information is disclosed to the media, it creates a premise of 'trial by media', where the public forms judgments on guilt or wrongdoing and this is unfair to the country's legal system," she said in reply to Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) during the oral question-and-answer session in Dewan Rakyat. Wee had asked about the government's decision to amend the definition of eligible whistleblowers under the law, so that restrictive conditions or criteria cannot be used as grounds to exclude them from protection under the Act. Azalina said the government aims to encourage whistleblowers to come forward to the appropriate agencies for assessment. "Wrongdoing is wrongdoing, but there are times when whistleblowers must be given protection. The second premise is to place them under the witness protection programme. "That is the framework we are working towards in handling whistleblower cases in this country," she said. She added that it is the government's responsibility to ensure whistleblower safety is protected under the law. "To uphold this initiative, in terms of confidentiality, Section 8 of the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 (Act 711) will continue to apply automatically to all individuals recognised as whistleblowers under the Act. "The identity and information relating to whistleblowers are protected and cannot be disclosed without consent, except for investigation or legal proceedings, as clearly stated in the Act," she said.
The Star
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Wee: More MSMEs could close down if power tariffs rise in July
KUALA LUMPUR: More micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) could be at risk of closing down their businesses if the government decides to go ahead with raising electricity tariffs by 14.2% in July, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam). According to Dr Wee (pic), the United States has paused its reciprocal tariffs for 90 days until July 9, and if Putrajaya increases electricity tariffs, then businesses would be making meagre profits due to reduced margins. 'MSMEs will not earn more than 10% if the electricity tariffs are raised by 14.2%. 'I think many of them will close shop. So, I'm pleading with the government, please look into this matter,' Dr Wee said when debating during the special Parliament sitting yesterday. He also said Putrajaya should cancel the e-invoicing implementation for MSMEs earning between RM150,000 and RM500,000 a year. Dr Wee also asked the government to review the feasibility of implementing RON95 petrol subsidy rationalisation. 'The best mechanism must be identified so that its benefits will reach the majority of the people,' added Dr Wee. 'We cannot control exterior factors, but we can control domestic factors. Please postpone them (electricity tariff hike and RON95 subsidy rationalisation) for a while, give them some room to breathe,' added Dr Wee. The targeted RON95 subsidy was initially scheduled to be implemented this June, while the hike in electricity tariffs is scheduled to begin in July 2025. The special Parliament sitting saw MPs from both sides of the divide debating the US tariff issue. US President Donald Trump announced on April 2 a sweeping 10% baseline duty on all countries and 24% levy specifically targeting Malaysian goods. Except for China, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the implementation of retaliatory tariffs, just hours after the tariffs against US trading partners came into effect on April 9. With the current global economic uncertainty, Dr Wee also urged the government to postpone the increase and expansion of the sales and service tax (SST). 'This should not be carried out because come July 9, the 90-day pause on all the US reciprocal tariffs comes to end. 'If the government goes through with expanding the scope of the SST, increasing the electricity tariff and implementing the petrol subsidy rationalisation, it will eventually ruin the MSMEs and impact the people,' Dr Wee said.
The Star
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
More MSMEs could close if electricity tariff rises in July, says Dr Wee
KUALA LUMPUR: More micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) could be at risk of closing down if the government decides to go ahead with raising electricity tariffs by 14.2% in July, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam). According to Dr Wee, the United States has currently paused its reciprocal tariffs for 90 days until July 9 and, if Putrajaya increases electricity tariffs then, businesses would make meagre profits. "MSMEs will not earn more than 10% if the electricity tariffs are raised by 14.2%. "I think many of them will close shop. So, I'm pleading to the government, please look into this matter," he told the special Dewan Rakyat tariff session on Monday (May 5). Dr Wee also said Putrajaya should cancel the e-invoicing implementation for MSMEs making between RM150,000 and RM500,000 a year. He asked the government to review the feasibility of a RON95 petrol subsidy rationalisation. "The best mechanism must be identified so that its benefits will reach the majority of the people. "We cannot control exterior factors but we can control domestic ones. Please postpone them (the electricity tariff hike and RON95 subsidy rationalisation) for a while, give them some room to breathe," he added. The targeted RON95 subsidy was initially scheduled to be implemented in June, while the increase in electricity tariffs is set to take effect in July. Monday's special sitting saw MPs from both sides of the divide debating the tariffs issue. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz will deliver the winding-up speech at the close of the sitting this evening. The reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on April 2 include a sweeping 10% baseline duty on all countries and a steeper 24% levy specifically on Malaysian goods. Trump then announced a 90-day pause on their implementation, except for China.
