Hello Grasshoppa,
We have witness another historic moment when Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng presented Pakatan Harapan Budget 2019 on 2nd November 2018. This is the first Budget made by Pakatan Harapan Government after it came to power on 9th May 2018.
Despite some shortfall from their first 100 days promise, many Malaysian are expecting PH Government to present a Budget that will benefit Malaysian citizen.
Below are some of the Key Highlight of Budget 2019 & How Will It Benefit Malaysian?
1. Tax
Online Services Tax – This is something very new. Online Services such as Spotify, Netflix & Steam will be subjected to tax.
Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT) – RPGT for local will be raised from 0% to 5%. There will be exception for house below RM200,000.
International Travel Tax – There will be a Travel Tax effective 1st June 2019 for all International Flight that are out from Malaysia. RM20 for flight to ASEAN Countries & RM40 to Other Country.
Sugar Tax – Remember many years back when ex BN Government raised the price of Sugar? Now there will be tax for sugary drinks which cost RM0.40/litre.
2. Petrol Subsidy
There will be subsidiary of RON95 petrol for car owners with engines under 1500cc & motorcyclist with engines under 125cc. The subsidy for cars will be RM0.30/litre & capped at 100 litre/month & motors will be at 40 litre/month. Most of you may be puzzled & full of questions on how will this be implemented. Honestly I dont have any idea either.
3. Public Transport
For Malaysians who rely heavily on public transport will definitely benefit from this. The proposed rates will be RM100 for unlimited RapidKL Rails & bus services. If you only use bus, it will be RM50 for unlimited trip. They will be adding more bus companies in the future.
3. Frozen Toll Hike & Free Toll
Good News for motorist that travels to Penang Island for work. Both Penang Bridge Toll for Motor will be abolish. Good start for PH Government for the Toll abolishment. KL Intra-City Toll Hikes will be freeze as well.
4. Housing
PH Government have announced first of its kind P2P Financing for Property Crowdfunding. It is expected to launch early next year. Also, first time home buyer with salary below RM5000 will be exempted from Stamp Duty until December 2020.
5. Airport Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)
This is another first of its kind too. We heard of many types of REIT. Have you encounter any Airport REIT before? This is an exciting investment platform for Malaysian & the funding will be use to upgrade Malaysian Airport.
6. Financial Aid
Instead of calling it BR1M, they are calling it Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) now. It is for household income below RM4000. The range is as below :
Below RM2000 income : RM1000
Income between RM2001 – RM3000 : RM700
Income between RM3001 – RM4000 : RM500
7. Minimum Wage
The minimum wage set by PH Government will be RM1100. Is it really enough for Malaysian to live with RM1100 salary?
8. PTPTN
There will be deductions between 2%-15% for PTPTN borrowers with income above RM1000.
9. Education
RM3.8 Billion will be allocated for Government Scholarship & RM400 Million for University Research. With the growth of E-Sports, government will be allocating RM10 Million for encouragement & the sports development.
10. Healthcare
With collaboration with Great Eastern, a new fund called National Health Protection Fund will be launched to assist families in the B40 category.
11. Smoke Free Nation
PH Government aims to be a Smoke Free Nation by 2025. Effective 2019, there will be smoking ban at selected areas such as restaurant & eateries.
12. Duty Free
Pulau Pangkor will be made a duty free island BUT it will be bounded by certain conditions. A duty free shop will be setup at Port Swettenham, Penang to promote cruise tourism.
13. Internet
We are expected to enjoy lower Broadband price by end of 2018. PH Government will be implementing faster internet speed for outside urban areas within the next 5 years.
Conclusion :
This is the first Budget made by PH Government. With the theme of “Malaysia Wibawa, Ekonomi Dinamik, Rakyat Sejahtera”, lets hope that our country are able to grow with the new government & Malaysian are able to enjoy the benefits of the growth. Kudos to the effort made my PH Government to prepare this Budget for our country & Malaysian.
You can read the full Budget 2019 text HERE
OSS!
