Six months levy exemption for two sectors
Published: Jan 22, 2009 11:43 AM | Updated: Jan 22, 2009 11:51 AM
Employers will be exempted from paying the human resources development levy for six months on two sectors effective Feb 1 this year to ease their financial burden in view of the global economic crisis, said Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam today.
Employers will be exempted from paying the human resources development levy for six months on two sectors effective Feb 1 this year to ease their financial burden in view of the global economic crisis, said Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam today.
He said the two sectors were the textile, and the electronics and electrical industries.
With the government's move, the employers were expected to save between RM30 million and RM40 million, he added in a statement.
He said for the six month period, the amount of human resources development levy that would be exempted for the textile industry was RM2.68 million and RM30.57 million for the electronics and electrical industry.
The minister said the exemption involved 1,234 employers registered with the Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Bhd under the ministry, comprising of 325 employers in the textile industry and 909 employers in the electronics and electrical industry.
"This is a proactive measure undertaken by the government to assist employers during these hard times," he said.
Decline in demand
He said the exemption was given due to the continued decline in demand which has badly affected the two industries.
"Even though the levy is exempted from February 2009 to July 2009, employers in both industries are encouraged to continue sending their workers for training and utilise their levy in their accounts," he said.
Subramaniam said the government had previously exempted fully or partially the payment of the levy on three occasions namely the Asian financial crisis in 1998 (levy exempted between six months to 18 months); the 2001 economic slowdown (levy exempted for all sectors); and the Iraq war and Sars epidemic in 2003 (for hotels and travel agencies for six months).
He said the government would continue to monitor the growth of both industries based on the monthly Industrial Production Index and review the situation at the end of the six month period.
"If the situation persists, a further exemption would be considered," he added.
He said the two sectors were the textile, and the electronics and electrical industries.With the government's move, the employers were expected to save between RM30 million and RM40 million, he added in a statement.
He said for the six month period, the amount of human resources development levy that would be exempted for the textile industry was RM2.68 million and RM30.57 million for the electronics and electrical industry.
The minister said the exemption involved 1,234 employers registered with the Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Bhd under the ministry, comprising of 325 employers in the textile industry and 909 employers in the electronics and electrical industry.
"This is a proactive measure undertaken by the government to assist employers during these hard times," he said.
Decline in demand
He said the exemption was given due to the continued decline in demand which has badly affected the two industries.
"Even though the levy is exempted from February 2009 to July 2009, employers in both industries are encouraged to continue sending their workers for training and utilise their levy in their accounts," he said.
Subramaniam said the government had previously exempted fully or partially the payment of the levy on three occasions namely the Asian financial crisis in 1998 (levy exempted between six months to 18 months); the 2001 economic slowdown (levy exempted for all sectors); and the Iraq war and Sars epidemic in 2003 (for hotels and travel agencies for six months).
He said the government would continue to monitor the growth of both industries based on the monthly Industrial Production Index and review the situation at the end of the six month period.
"If the situation persists, a further exemption would be considered," he added.
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