{"id":21554,"date":"2016-01-28T16:55:34","date_gmt":"2016-01-28T08:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=21554"},"modified":"2018-08-24T00:45:45","modified_gmt":"2018-08-23T16:45:45","slug":"recalibration-malaysia-budget-2016-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/recalibration-malaysia-budget-2016-highlights","title":{"rendered":"Recalibration: Malaysia Budget 2016 Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has announced a revised Budget 2016 Malaysia<\/a> to optimise the country\u2019s development and operational expenditures amidst falling oil prices and slower economic growth.<\/p>\n When the Malaysia\u00a0Budget 2016 was tabled in Octobe last year, crude oil price was at US$48 per barrel. However, it has now fallen to US$30 per barrel.<\/p>\n The global economic situation, coupled with the decline in crude oil price is estimated to cause the national revenue to fall by RM7 billion to RM9 billion.<\/p>\n In this recalibrated budget, the Government has revised the 2016 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast to 4% to 4.5% from 4% to 5%, based on the assumption for averaged Dated Brent crude oil price of between US$30 and US$35 per barrel. The fiscal deficit target remains at 3.1%.<\/p>\n To achieve these targets, the 2016 Budget revision incorporated measures to optimise expenditure to reflect the current economic situation. These measures include:<\/p>\n It\u2019s undeniable that the cost of living has escalated at an alarming rate. The same RM50 can no longer get you the same things you used to get a year or two ago. Since the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Malaysians have been struggling to cope financially, coupled with the rising rate of layoffs in the country, this could be the recipe for a financial disaster.<\/p>\n To help the rakyat<\/em> cope with the rising cost, here are the key points mentioned in the budget revision by Datuk Seri Najib:<\/p>\n Affordable housing remains one of the main problems faced by Malaysians. With the cost of living skyrocketing of late, many non-home owners are finding it hard to save money to buy their first home. Following the same vein in the past few national budgets, the revised budget this year also look into more ways to help Malaysians own their first home.<\/p>\n Here are the key highlights:<\/p>\n The middle-income earners are not left behind in this revision with the reintroduction of the special tax relief of RM2,000 for individual taxpayers<\/strong> with a monthly income of RM8,000 or below. This is valid for the Year of Assessment 2015 and will benefit two million taxpayers. This was last introduced for Year of Assessment 2013<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, just weeks before the budget 2016 recalibration announcement, Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, was purportedly misquoted by a few news outlets as saying the Public Service Department (JPA) has suspended government scholarships and that the matter was being studied by the department. This has created panic among parents and students. Though it was not confirmed, it was also not announced in the revised budget.<\/p>\n In the recalibrated budget 2016, Datuk Seri Najib announced four programmes under the sponsorship of the Public Service Department (PSD) that will continue for 2016:<\/p>\n Other measures to encourage education of the next generation are:<\/p>\n With the falling Ringgit, tourism is expected to pick up in Malaysia. Furthermore, the increase in tourist arrivals will stimulate domestic economic growth, especially in today\u2019s global economic climate. This year, the Government will focus more on the industry with the following highlights included in the budget:<\/p>\n The falling oil prices will undoubtedly affect the country\u2019s revenue. In its bid to optimise its revenue, the Government are taking the following measures:<\/p>\n To ensure the country\u2019s target to reduce fiscal deficit, and stay on track for growth, the Government first needs to ensure its spending is optimise. Though emolument for civil servants and pensions of retirees will not be affected, the prime minister has committed to the following measures in cutting spending:<\/p>\n The revised Budget 2016 is expected to help save RM9 billion in operating expenditure and development expenditure<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/span>Cost of living<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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\nHowever, for taxpayers, the additional discretionary income they get from this will still be taxed.<\/li>\n<\/p>\n
<\/span>Housing<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>Taxation <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>Education<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>Tourism<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>Check and balance: What is the Government doing to boost its shrinking coffers?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>Increase revenue <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>Reduce spending\/expenditure<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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