LETTERS: In late 2022, the then-government announced a home ownership programme for first-time homebuyers.
First-time buyers who signed the sale and purchase agreement for their homes between June 1, 2022, and Dec 31, 2023 would get a stamp-duty exemption.
Homes below RM500,000 were given 100 per cent exemption of the stamp duty, and properties ranging between RM500,00 and RM1,000,000 were given a 75 per cent exemption.
This is a great initiative to encourage home ownership.
I am a first-time homebuyer who bought my home in July 2022 and had paid the stamp duty. I was overjoyed to hear about the exemption in late 2022 and had expected to receive a refund.
I have waited since the end of 2022 to receive the refund from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).
The lawyer who was dealing with the sale and purchase agreement had submitted the documents to IRB, but my application for the refund was rejected.
I appealed and it was rejected as well. I went to the IRB branch as phone calls were never answered.
At one IRB branch, I was told that I was eligible for the exemption and could receive the refund, but was told to go to the branch where I am registered.
Then, at that branch, I was told that I was not eligible for the exemption and could not receive the refund. Such conflicting information is disappointing.
I was informed that only homebuyers who had bought their first home from a developer or inherited the property from family members were eligible for the exemption. As a sub-sale home buyer, there is no stamp-duty exemption.
A new question pops up: why is there discrimination against first-time homebuyers who bought a sub-sale property?
The exemption should apply to any first-time homebuyers regardless of them buying a brand new, sub-sale or inherited property.
A first home is a first home regardless of it being brand new, inherited or sub-sale.
It is a major investment and milestone in a person's life. One spends a significant amount on it. I do not see the rationale of sidelining sub-sale property buyers.
Nobody seems to have the answer to this question and the IRB has said that there is no such gazette from the government, so it cannot approve my refund.
I would appreciate a clear answer from the Housing and Local Government Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the IRB on this matter.
RANI KAUR
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times