Malaysian Government Exempts Certain Foreign Source Income from Income Tax and Introduces Ceiling on Stamp Duty on Contract Notes

In an unexpected development, the Malaysian Government announced on 30 December 20211 that: 

  1. the following categories of foreign source income brought back to Malaysia by resident taxpayers will be exempted from income tax: 
  • dividends received by companies and limited liability partnerships; and 

  • all types of income received by individuals. 
  1. a maximum of RM1,000 will be imposed on stamp duty payable on contract notes for securities traded on Bursa Malaysia. 
The income tax exemption and stamp duty remission referred to above are effective from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2026.
 
The imposition of income tax on foreign source income brought back to Malaysia and the increase in rate of stamp duty on contract notes from 0.1% to 0.15% of the value of the marketable securities (without limit as to the amount of stamp duty) are measures announced at the Malaysia Budget 2022. These measures, which are intended to take effect on 1 January 2022, will be incorporated into the Income Tax Act 1967 and the Stamp Act 1949 respectively pursuant to the Finance Bill 2021 which has already been passed by the Malaysian Parliament and is set to come into operation imminently.
 
Comments
 
The tax exemption for foreign source income brought into Malaysia is likely to be effected by an exemption order and guidelines issued under the Income Tax Act 1967, and the ceiling imposed on stamp duty on contract notes for marketable securities by a remission order issued under the Stamp Act 1949.
 
The exemption and remission will no doubt be welcomed by resident taxpayers and the investment community.
 
Alert by Sheba Gumis (Partner) and Tai Kean Lynn (Associate) of the Corporate Practice of Skrine.
 

1 Tax exemption for foreign source income, StarBiz, 31 December 2021.

This alert contains general information only. It does not constitute legal advice nor an expression of legal opinion and should not be relied upon as such. For further information, kindly contact skrine@skrine.com.