PUTRAJAYA: Helping middle-income (M40) Malaysians will be a key focus of Budget 2027, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said the government was currently looking at a list of measures to further assist the group.
“We have a list of priority areas to ease the burden, including for the M40,” said Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, after attending a Budget 2027 engagement session at the Finance Ministry here on Tuesday (Aug 18).
Budget 2027 is expected to be tabled in Parliament on Oct 9.
Earlier, the Finance Ministry, in its pre-Budget statement, said the M40 remained a central focus of the Madani administration, with various relief measures rolled out since 2023.
The ministry said the first Madani Budget had also focused on middle-income Malaysians.
“Beginning in 2023, the personal income tax rate for resident taxpayers was reduced by two percentage points for every income band above RM35,000 up to RM100,000.
“This reduction provided around 2.4 million taxpayers with up to RM1,300 in additional disposable income,” it said.
The government has also introduced various initiatives benefiting the M40, including RM150 in Early Schooling Aid for every student and two rounds of RM100 Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) payments for all citizens aged 18 and above.
The Finance Ministry said various tax reliefs had also been provided to ease the cost of living for middle-income (M40) Malaysians.
“These include early childhood education costs (up to RM3,000), rehabilitation treatment for children with learning disabilities (up to RM10,000), insurance and takaful premium payments, with the relief extended to cover children, and first-home purchase costs through stamp-duty exemptions,” it said.
Budget 2027 will be the fifth Madani Budget. It aims to cushion living costs, expand social safety nets, bolster economic competitiveness and improve fiscal sustainability.
About 400 representatives from stakeholder groups, industry, NGOs and academia attended the engagement session.
