(The ASEAN Briefing)
- Malaysia has introduced a variety of indirect tax and stamp duty measures that businesses should be aware of in 2021.
- First time homeowners are now exempt from certain stamp duty charges on certain property prices and there is an extension on the sales tax exemption of locally assembled buses until December 2022.
As part of the 2021 national budget, Malaysia has issued various new incentives and measures in relation to indirect tax and stamp duty.
First time homeowners are now exempt from certain stamp duty charges if the property is valued at no more than 500,000 ringgit (US$123,724), and from July 2021, a tourism tax of 10 ringgit (US$2.47) per night will be levied on non-Malaysian tourists.
The government has allocated 322 billion ringgit (US$79.6 billion), or 20 percent of the GDP, in its latest national budget, considered to be the largest in the nation’s history. There are a variety of tax incentives for businesses and individuals in the form of reliefs and tax holidays aimed at mitigating the economic impact caused by the pandemic for the coming year.
