Reintroduce tax relief for SSPN depositors as it helps parents, says Dr Wee

KUALA LUMPUR: Tax reliefs for Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional (SSPN) deposits should be continued under Budget 2023 because it is an important policy for parents, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

The Ayer Hitam MP said that parents had shared their views on Deputy Finance Minister Steven Sim’s announcement that the tax relief for SSPN deposits were discontinued starting this year.

“They (parents) felt that this isn’t a good decision,” said Dr Wee in a Facebook video post on Tuesday (March 28).

Dr Wee said the tax relief was continued under the previous administration and it was announced when Budget 2023 was tabled by then-finance minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz in October last year.

“In fact, the tax relief (for SSPN deposits) was extended for a longer period,” added Dr Wee.

Dr Wee said there was a possibility that the SSPN deposits were left out of the tabling of Budget 2023 by Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Parliament last month.

“To me, we should appeal to the Prime Minister because this (SSPN deposit tax relief) is important to parents who are always saving up to fund their children’s education.

“SSPN is a good mechanism by the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN),” said Dr Wee.

“Prior to this, SSPN contributors were given a tax relief of up to RM8,000 a year,” added Dr Wee.

Dr Wee also said it was not too late for the government to decide on extending tax reliefs for SSPN contributors, as the 2023 year of assessment only begins early next year.

“There’s still nine more months for those who are saving (money under SSPN).

“If an announcement is made soon, it will be happy news to all parents, particularly the lower and middle income,” said Dr Wee.

On March 27 (Monday), Sim said the government decided to discontinue individual tax reliefs for SSPN contributors.

According to Sim, the decision was due to the reduction by two percentage points for the M40, higher medical claims, and other forms of tax reliefs.