KUALA LUMPUR: The raising of individual tax relief to RM12,000 from RM9,000 under the 2027 Budget will result in lower monthly tax deductions for taxpayers starting January next year.
Prime Minister's Office Economic Adviser Nurhisham Hussein said the measure would deliver immediate benefits, especially to middle-income (M40) earners, as the higher relief will be reflected in their monthly salary deductions.
"The personal relief, which hasn't been changed for 20 years — I think that's been positive. Actually, that's one of the things that the government has been able to do over the last three years, to fix a lot of the issues that have accumulated.
"Civil service salaries have not been adjusted for like 15 years; it was done last year. Pensions, shift to EPF (Employees Provident Fund), which is a major reform," he said during the "Ngopi Dengan Zafrul" podcast.
