BINTULU: The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) has called on the federal government to increase tax deductions on donations and cash contributions given for Covid-19 relief to encourage more individuals and companies to step up and donate.
Its secretary general Datuk Dr Wong Aik Loung said the move would help the government’s efforts, especially the Health Ministry (MOH) to curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic in the nation as a whole and Sarawak in particular.
“Under the existing legislation, the amount of tax deduction is limited to seven percent of aggregate income for donations or monetary contributions to approved institutions or organisations.
“Last year, the government also offered tax deductions for contributions and donations made either in cash or goods to Tabung Covid-19 and MOH,” he said.
Wong called on the federal government to increase the tax deduction limit from seven percent to 10 percent on donations given to approved institutions or organisations.
He also suggested for the federal government to offer tax incentives or tax relief to individuals or companies that donate to students for the purchase of digital equipment such as computers, tablets and others.
“This tax deduction should not be limited to donations made to the MOH only, instead it should be further extended to donations or contributions to the state government or statutory bodies.
“In fact, the condition to get the tax deduction also needs to be simplified,” added Wong.
