Over 15 management corporation (MC) heads, which represent over 30,000 residents living in condominiums and apartments in the Klang Valley, gathered together to protest the implementation of the six percent goods and services tax (GST) on their monthly maintenance and management fees next year, reported the media.
The group noted that not much thought was placed on the plan to charge GST on Management Committees (MCs) which collected over RM500,000 per year since the rule failed to specify the density of the strata projects.
Notably, many low-medium-cost apartment MCs would collect over RM500,00 in yearly maintenance fees due to higher number of units, said Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, who attended the press conference at the Kuchai Brem Park condo community hall in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
On the other hand, the rule would spare high-end condo projects that have limited units since their yearly maintenance collection would not exceed RM500,000, noted C.W. Tay, a resident of Brem Park 2.
Raymond Lee, MC chairman for the Kuchai Brem Park 2 condo project, said Malaysia is not yet ready to follow Singapore’s footstep in imposing GST on condo dwellers since the latter is a high-income nation.
He noted that the Malaysian government had the wrong impression that all those living in apartments and condominiums are rich.
“The truth is many low-income earners live in residential condos, including hawkers, taxi drivers, single parents, retirees and pensioners,” said Kuchai Brem Park 1 condominium chairman Lim Kah Pin.
“If the ministry feels that the six percent should be imposed on condo dwellers, then it should be applied to all residential units.”
Image source: themalaysianinsider.com
Farah Wahida, Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email farahwahida@propertyguru.com.my
