Increase in house prices just temporary after GST implementation, says Ahmad Maslan

Any increase in house prices upon implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in April next year is just temporary, as a number of measures are already in place to curtail the rise.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said among the measures are increasing the real property gains tax from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, enhancing the price of houses from RM500,000 to RM1 million for foreigners, and barring developers from undertaking projects based on the Developer Interest Bearing Scheme.

He told reporters this after officiating the closing of a GST information session and a briefing on current issues at the Masjid Tanah Parliamentary constituency here today.

Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said recently that the price of houses can be expected to rise by three per cent based on a study by the Real Estate Housing Developers Association of Malaysia (REDHA), after the GST implementation.

Ahmad, however said, the figure could be just one to two per cent based on the calculation of the Finance Ministry and the Customs Department.

Meanwhile, he said he would propose to the government to reduce the RON 95 fuel price, if global oil prices fell to between US$70 to US$75 a barrel.

He said a reduction could be undertaken, as it would have passed the subsidy threshold of the government.

The price of Brent crude oil is at US$79.41 a barrel at present.