PENANG, Oct 28 — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has urged the federal government to review the proposed special tax rate of 15 per cent for knowledge workers in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor.
Lim said the proposed preferential tax structure for knowledge workers in Iskandar is unfair, as the rest of Malaysia had to pay 26 per cent.
"The move is contrary to the principle of 1 Malaysia. How can there be 1 Malaysia but two systems?" he said in his opening speech at the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) Tax and Economic conference at the E&O hotel here today.
He hoped the 15 per cent tax for knowledge workers could be extended to all Malaysians, giving full meaning to 1 Malaysia.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, when tabling the 2010 Budget, announced that the government would reduce the income tax of Malaysians and foreign knowledge workers residing and working in the economic corridor of Iskandar Malaysia to 15 per cent.
Lim also expressed his disagreement with the five per cent Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT), saying, it would only burden property owners.
"I do not agree with the five per cent RPGT and hope it would be abolished," he said.
Meanwhile, MIA president Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid said the organisation had won the bid to host the World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) in 2010.
"With the support of the Malaysian government, we will host the WCOA from Nov 8-11 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre," he added.
The congress is expected to attract 6,000 participants from all over the world comprising accountants, business leaders and key business executives. — Bernama
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