PETALING JAYA: The Covid-19 Special Task Force comprising non-governmental organisations and entrepreneurs today requested the government to provide another stimulus package prioritising affected sectors following the implementation of the second movement control order.
The task force secretariat submitted a 13-point memorandum to the government today urging it to prioritise small-and medium-sized enterprises, self-employed entrepreneurs and retrenched workers.
Among other things, it wants the government to reinstate the automatic loan moratorium with waiver of interest for all businesses until the end of this year and with a further extension of another three months should the pandemic continue.
It also proposed a roll-out of soft loans to all businesses and waiver for business licencing and assessment charges as well as statutory payments until the end of this year.
“As the economic situation is getting from bad to worse, Malaysian entrepreneurs will surely have difficulty making the statutory payments that need to be met as a business,” the task force said.
Further, the task force appealed for the government to provide a subsidy on electricity bills as well as rental relief. The task force proposed a 50% subsidy for electricity bills across the board until the end of this year.
It also proposed that the wage subsidy be increased from RM600 to a minimum RM1,200 until Dec 31, and that the subsidy limit of 500 staff be expanded, especially for chain operators.
The task force is also looking for leeway on monthly tax payments and a halt to the introduction of any new taxes for the rest of the year.
“To provide stability in the business environment, the owners of businesses are appealing to the government to avoid any introduction of new taxes, as such news will seriously dampen the business environment and push away foreign direct investments.”
The task force has also requested an extension period for the submission of the annual reports and other statutory reporting submissions until Dec 31.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/02/09/businesses-need-another-stimulus-package-group-tells-putrajaya/