Tax Espresso - February 2016

2016 BUDGET RECALIBRATION SPEECH

On 28 January 2016, the Minister of Finance announced the recalibration of the 2016 Budget given the current economic climate. Among the measures that have been proposed are:

1. Reduction of the employees' contribution to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) by 3% beginning March 2016 to December 2017. This remains as an option to the employees.
2. Provision of a special tax relief of RM2,000 to individual taxpayers with a monthly income of RM8,000 or below for the year of assessment (YA) 2015.
3. Increase efforts in ensuring tax compliance and auditing of tax evaders.
4. Relaxation of penalties on taxpayers to encourage voluntary disclosure of their prior years' income. The tax arrears must be settled before 31 December 2016.