Unpacking Budget 2025: Fiscal Strategies and Business Implications

In this episode of Enterprise Explores, we unpack Malaysia’s 2025 National Budget and its implications for the business community with Farah Rosley, Malaysia Tax Managing Partner at Ernst & Young Tax Consultants.

The budget introduces a range of measures aimed at strengthening fiscal consolidation, accelerating industrial transformation, and supporting high-tech sectors, with a strong emphasis on digitalisation, sustainability, and broadening the tax base. Key highlights include:

- A new 2% tax on chargeable dividend income for individual shareholders exceeding RM100,000,

- An expanded Sales tax scope to include additional services and non-essential goods, such as salmon and avocado. Sales

- Tax exemptions will remain for essential food items.

- A progressive expansion of Service Tax to cover B2B commercial service transactions starting 1 May 2025,

- Phased increases in excise duty rates on sugary drinks,

- Continued support for SMEs and new tax incentives for technology, renewable energy, and logistics sectors,

- A strong push towards automation and ESG initiatives, aligned with the New Industrial Master Plan 2030,

- The introduction of a carbon tax on the iron and steel industries starting in 2026 to encourage low-carbon technologies.

Farah discusses these key measures and what the business community needs to know about tax policies, funding opportunities, and navigating the evolving fiscal landscape.

This BFM Budget 2025 Special is brought to you by Mah Sing – Reinvent Spaces. Enhance Life.