REHDA views Budget 2021 as comprehensive, inclusive

In a statement today, REHDA Malaysia president Datuk Soam Heng Choon said the stamp duties exemption on memorandum of transfer and loan agreement for residential units priced RM500,000 and below from Jan 1, 2021, to Dec 31, 2025, would benefit Malaysians who were hard-pressed to buy a house, particularly those in the Bottom 40 (B40) and Medium 40 (M40) group.

Previously the stamp duty exemption was for houses priced at RM300,000 and below.

On stamp duties exemption for ‘white knight’ contractors and original purchasers of abandoned projects for the same period, Soam said it was hoped that the waivers would encourage more contractors to come in and rescue abandoned units.

REHDA also lauded the introduction of the rent-to-own scheme with selected financial institutions.

"However, we hope the programme can be extended to more than just the 5,000 units of Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA) homes, whereby purchasers in the open market can also benefit from the scheme," Soam said in his preliminary comments on Budget 2021 today.

He said REHDA also supported the RM1.2 billion allocation for housing for the B40 group.

"We believe that the various recipients of this allocation, namely Program Perumahan Rakyat, Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd’s Rumah Mesra Rakyat and Program Perumahan Penjawat Awam Malaysia, will provide the much-needed relief for those in need," said Soam.

REHDA also supported the government's announcement of lowering income tax by one percentage point for the chargeable income band of RM50,001-RM70,000, and the announcement of allowing Employees Provident Fund contributors affected by COVID-19 to withdraw from their Account 1 as well as the reduction in contribution from 11 per cent to nine per cent.

"With higher disposable income, it will encourage more spending which will help to spur the economy and will go a long long way to meet the needs of people," he added.

-- BERNAMA