Govt to revise real property gains tax rates

The government will revise the Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) rates for disposals of properties or shares in the property holding companies after the fifth year.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said for companies and foreigners, the rate would be increased from 5.0 percent to 10 percent, while for Malaysian individuals, the rate would be imposed at 5.0 percent.

However, low-cost, low-medium cost and affordable housing with prices below RM200,000 will be exempted from the tax, he said when tabling the 2019 Budget in Parliament today.

Lim said the stamp duty on the transfer of property valued at more than RM1 million would increase from 3.0 percent to 4.0 percent.

In the meantime, the government proposes that income tax exemption for interest earned on wholesale money market funds to be abolished from Jan 1, 2019.

Since 1999, tax exemption for interest earned on wholesale money market funds was granted to develop the unit trust industry.

“The growth of these funds in the country has been substantial, at 24 percent annually since 2010 to achieve a total fund size of RM42.9 billion as at December 2017,” he said.

-- BERNAMA


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