TAX INCENTIVE FOR SDC INVESTORS

DIVIDEND ....Warisan Harta's Chairman Ramlee Marhaban (left) presenting the dividend of RM15 million to the Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Pengiran Hassanel ( 2nd right) witnessed by Chief Minister Musa Aman (3rd right) and other board members of Warisan Harta.

THE FEDERAL Ministry of Finance has approved a tax incentive package to encourage investments under the Sabah Development Corridor. Chief Minister Musa Aman disclosed this during a ceremony where Warisan Harta Sdn Bhd handed over a RM15 million dividend to the Sabah state government in Kuala Lumpur.

Warisan Harta Sdn Bhd is an investment arm of the Sabah government and is also one of the Entry Point Project (EPP) investor under the SDC.

The incentive package is intended to further attract investors from other parts of Malaysia and from abroad to conduct business in Sabah, according to Musa, who is also the Chairman of the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA).

"The investment tax incentive package will cover activities in the tourism, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors and other industries located within the Strategic Development Area (SDA)," he said.

The SDA includes the Kinabalu Gold Coast Enclave (KGCE), the Integrated Livestock Valley (ILV), the Sabah Agro-Industrial Precinct (SAIP), the Sandakan Education Hub, the Sabah Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP), the Lahad Datu Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) and the Marine Integrated Cluster (MIC).

According to Finance Ministry sources, the tax incentives vary according to  the focus areas, offering incentives such as a full tax exemption on statutory income for up to ten years, an investment tax allowance of 100 percent on qualifying capital expenditure for five years, and a full exemption on import duties and sales tax exemptions, subject to current policy.

The tax incentive mechanism comes under the jurisdiction of the National Committee on Investments (NCI). Tax incentive applications received by SEDIA up till 31 December 2020 come under the current policy.

Also present at the cheque presentation ceremony were Permanent Secretary to the state's Finance Ministry, Datuk Pengiran Hassanel Pg. Haji Mohd Tahir, Warisan Harta's Chairman, Datuk Ramlee Marhaban, Sabah State Attorney General, Datuk Roderic Fernandez, SEDIA's CEO, Datuk Dr. Mohd Yaakub Haji Johari, Warisan Harta's CEO, Datuk Ab Bakar Abas and board members. (Insight Sabah)