{"id":20107,"date":"2015-11-04T17:00:11","date_gmt":"2015-11-04T09:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=20107"},"modified":"2015-11-04T17:00:11","modified_gmt":"2015-11-04T09:00:11","slug":"budget-2016-what-can-the-middle-class-really-do-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/budget-2016-what-can-the-middle-class-really-do-about-it","title":{"rendered":"Budget 2016: What Can The Middle Class REALLY Do About It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced Malaysia\u2019s annual budget with the theme, \u201cProspering the Rakyat.\u201d This year\u2019s affair highlighted the government\u2019s plans to narrow its budget deficit, as well as measures to address issues such as the rising cost of living and housing unaffordability<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These measures include increasing its cash handouts under the 1Malaysia People\u2019s Aid (BR1M)<\/a> assistance programme and raising the minimum wage<\/a> for workers.<\/p>\n

They also introduced new income tax provisions, such as the introduction of tax relief<\/a> for children who provide for their parents and an increase in tax relief from RM1,000 to RM2,000 for each child from year of assessment 2016.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s face it \u2013 amid inflation woes triggered by the sharp drop in the Ringgit, the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the recent increase in toll rates across the Klang Valley \u2013 these measures really don\u2019t do much for those already grappling with the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n

Middle-income earners who are not eligible for cash aids, and yet do not earn enough to weather the rising living costs, continue to bear the biggest brunt of the current economic situation.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Who are Malaysia\u2019s middle-class?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Malaysia's Middle-Class According to Budget 2016<\/div>
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