Fuel Rebate To End on April 14

The Malaysian government has extended the claim period for another two weeks for which car owners are able to collect their cash rebates from Pos Malaysia. The claim period was supposed to end by March 31.

Eligible vechiles owners are encouraged to renew their road tax and submit their claims at post offices by the deadline. Car owners are entitled to a RM625 rebate while motor cycles owners get RM150 per vechile. The rebate was the goverment's effort to dampen the effect of the risng fuel cost last year.

Selected post offices are open till late and on weekends to help office hour workers to claim their rebates.

For those who have yet to claim their rebate, do it now before the deadline!

Source: The Star

EPF dividend expected to be at 4.5%

Employees Provident Fund's 2008 dividend is expected to be at 4.5%. However, National Union of Bank Employees secretary-general J. Solomon has lashed out at EPF saying that the dividend given is too low considering EPF is a cash rich body. Malaysian Trade Union Congress executive council member A. Sivanathan is expecting more than 5% dividend and this would be a fair amount.

Read more in details in The Sun

Not a very stimulating stimulus package for me

Just when I thought that at least one of that action items in the RM60B stimulus package might be relevant and beneficial to me who has a running housing loan but unfortunately the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) clarified in the media today that the RM10,000 tax deduction for interest on houing loans will be applicable for new properties bought (Sales & Purchase signed) between March 10 2009 and December 31 2009 and not for all housing loans Sob! Sob! (and you are not supposed to rent the property out too)

So after all, the stimulus package is not so directly stimulating for me after all. I think only two actions plans that is relevent to me is the price control on control food items and the tax deduction on my housing loan interests paid. Maybe the control on toll rise may help but for now I do not need to travel on highway that much.

The impact on control food items is minimal to me. I take my food and drinks with less sugar, less oil and less carb anyway (I am trying to stay healthy). The tax deduction on housing loans can really help stretch my ringgit a bit further but with the clarification from IRB that the deduction only applies for new purchases....so now I need to cross off stimulus action#2 as something that can benefit me. Let's not talk about retrenchment benefits for now. This is a benefit which I do not want!

I think that tax deduction should apply for all housing loans. I am paying more than a thousand ringgit per month on housing loan interest alone. The more money I have in my pocket, I may use it to buy some other things I might need thus in a way stimulating the economy, right? The restriction that the benefits only applies to new purchases will only help the developers who at anytome is more cash rich than I am.

So in summary the RM10,000 tax deduction benefits applies to.....
- property purchases berweem March 10 2009 to December 31 2010
- only one property per Malaysian citizen and resident
- Malaysian citizen and must reside in Malaysia only
- Property must not be rented out
- The tax deduction is given for three consecutive years from the first year the housing loan interest is paid and is effective from the year of assessment 2009

Sigh......

Source: The Star

RM67B stimulus package - What's in it for us?

There you have it. Our Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has just tabled a RM60B "mini budget". Well, this package is not mini by itself (accounting to more than 9% of Malaysia's GDP and almost a third of 2009 budget). It's 8 times bigger than the first RM7B stimulus package aimed at helping Malaysia to weather the world economic crisis, the worst economic contraction since the 1930's.

With addition of the stimulus pacakge, Malaysia's GDP gowth is expected to be between -1% to 1%. (doesn't sound good at all, even at best case scenario). So what does all this means to people like us? Well, if I understand corrently (and I highlight the important bits)............

• No increase in necessities food prices like sugar, flour and bread in two years
• No increase in toll in two years
• Tax relief of up to RM10,000 on interest paid on housing loan for three years
• Repair and mantainence of public ammenities to make our living conditoon better and improve the tourist spots
• Government will issue saving bonds to all citizens aged 21 and above, with a minimum investment of RM1,000 and a maximum of RM50,000
• Job training and placement for the unemployed and setup of more job centers. Government will also hire more people to work in various government positions
• To reduce retrenched worker's burden and their increase disposable incomes, the Government proposes that the existing tax exemption of RM6,000 given on retrenchment benefits be increased to RM10,000 for each completed year of service
• Bosses who hire retrenched worker will get double tax benefits up tp RM10,000 deduction per month
• The Government will undertake to finance tuition fees and research grants of up to RM20,000 for every student pursuing a PhD locally and RM10,000 for Masters to encourage self development in higher studies
• Reduced dependence on foreign workers in certain sectors
• A discount of RM5,000 given to car owners, who trade in their cars, must beat least 10 years old, for buying new Proton or Perodua cars. The Government will continue to finance part of the discount
• And added funding for rural development to provide better electricity and water facilities

Read the full speech of DPM DS Najib Tun Razak and what's more in the "mini" budget, click HERE (The Star)

Now, we as good citizens must ensure that 100% of the money is put into good use and not fuel corruption.....

Are You Paying 10,000% Interest Rate on Your Credit Card?

Having a credit card is convenient. You nenver know when you need more money in an instant. To save you from that embarassing moment when you need to pay that bill and only then to fid out that your wallet is as dry as the dessert in terms of that liquid cash

But did you know that having that convenience comes at a cost? More than what you might think. Did you not read that fine print when you applied for a credit card?

The star's managing editor, P.Gunasegaram share his personal experience of having an overdue credit card payment and its cost. He wrote "Let's say you have an outstanding balance on your credit card of say RM100. And you just forgot to pay your bill on time. What do you think your charge will be on an annual basis? Would you believe 10,000%?"

Want to know more? Read all about it HERE

Source: The Star (Business)

Fish Prices Soar 20-30% Due to Shortage of Supply

A shortage of fish has caused prices to soar – all because of a controversial fish container ruling. See my previous blog.

Checks at several wet markets here and in Kuala Lumpur showed that prices of fish had shot up by up to 30%.

Fish distributors and wholesalers increased their cost when The Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia requires the use of insulated fish containers to transport the fishes.

To make matter worst, these containers are supplied by a single supplier. Most porbably the supply of these insulated boxes are not enough and waiting period is long

For full report, click HERE

Source: The Star

EPF Contributions: To Cut or Not To Cut?

Anita Gabriel, a regular columnist of The Star gives a real insight about the truth on our contributions in the Employee Provident Fund.

Did you know that over two thirds of EPF contributors exhaust their retirement funds in less than 3 years of retirement? Scary, huh? What more if contributors cut their monthly contributions by 3 of a percentagepoints in support of the government's recent effort to stimulate the economy.

In recent weeks, there have been suggestions for cuts in employers’ contribution to EPF to alleviate the burden of rising costs faced by businesses amidst waning demand and the general economic slowdown

So having said that, is EPF the best retirement fund scheme? Some analysts say that today's contribution rates are not enough (to sustain us after retirement) and should be increased. Read about what Anita has to say. Click HERE.

For me, I would like as much money in my EPF as I can get. So I filed an application to revert back to 11% contribution (from 8%). I need every single cent of my EPF savings when I retire.

And as Anita mentioned. Malaysia's population is ageing and I think more family is practising one or two child policy. And just like Japan's current ageing population, I don't think any aged parent can really depend on their children for any financial support and that's why whatever and how much you put into EPF is important.

Source: The Star (Business)