KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat today passed the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the Labuan Business Activity Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024.
The bills were approved after the third reading by Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying after the committee considered the proposed motion without any amendments.
Earlier, Minister of Finance II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan presented the Income Tax Bill aimed at amending the Income Tax Act 1967 (Act 53).
It involves sections 1 to 9 to implement amendments for the improvement of tax policy and administration. Among them, section 2 aims to replace the definition of “capital asset” in subsection 2(1) Act 53, and section 3 aims to amend section 15c of Act 53 to clarify the disposal of shares in a controlled company.
These amendments to sections 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9 will come into effect upon the enactment of this Act. Sections 5 and 6 are deemed to have come into effect on Jan 1, 2024, while section 7 will come into effect for the 2024 assessment year and subsequent assessment years.
Lim said the intention of implementing capital gains tax is to broaden the tax base and align with international best practices.
Apart from that, the implementation of capital gains tax is also important to support fair and equitable tax reform in line with the aspirations relating to the principle of social justice, which is a cornerstone of the MADANI government.
Meanwhile, the Labuan Business Activity Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024 aims to amend the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990 (Act 445), involving two clauses.
These amendments are deemed to have come into effect on Jan 1, 2024.
Clause 1 contains the short title and commencement of the proposed Act, while Clause 2 aims to amend subsection 22da(6) of Act 445 to require electronic trading platform providers to issue self-billed invoices according to the terms and specifications determined by the Director-General.
Both bills will not involve the government in any additional expenditure. -Bernama
