The WSP 3.0 announced in Budget 2021 is now enhanced to cover all employers operating in the Movement Control Order (MCO) states across all sectors for a period of one month. The eligible employers will receive a wage subsidy of RM600 per employee, for each of their employees earning less than RM4,000.
Extension of sales tax exemption on passenger cars
On 5 June 2020, the Prime Minister of Malaysia announced a Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan. To promote the growth of the automotive industry in Malaysia and to provide financial relief to car buyers, a sales tax exemption on the sale of locally-assembled passenger cars and the importation of passenger cars into Malaysia was announced as part of this Plan. The sales tax exemption provided is as follows:
- 100% sales tax exemption on the sale of locally-assembled passenger cars
- 50% sales tax exemption on imported passenger cars
The above sales tax exemption is extended to 30 June 2021 under the PERMAI Assistance Package, in line with the media announcement released by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) dated 29 December 2020.
Reduction of ownership period to enjoy excise duty and sales tax exemption on budget taxis
Currently, the Government provides 100% excise duty and sales tax exemption for the transfer, disposal and private use of budget taxis. This is on condition that the vehicle is owned for seven years.
Under the PERMAI Assistance Package, the ownership period has been reduced to five years, effective from 1 January to 31 December 2021.
HRDF levy exemption
In Budget 2021, the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) levy is exempted for six months, effective 1 January 2021. The exemption was only available to companies in the tourism sector and affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
It is now proposed that the HRDF levy exemption be available to companies that are unable to operate during the MCO and Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) periods. However, it is not clear at this stage whether the exemption will also be for a period of six months.