Implementation of Tourism Tax postponed

THE implementation of Tourism Tax which was originally slated for July 1, will be postponed by at least a month, with some changes made to the original plan.

Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz says it is now tentatively set for implementation on Aug 1, and Malaysians who stay at hotels rated three-star and below are exempted from the levy, Sin Chew Daily reported yesterday.

“We had planned to implement this (tourism tax) on July 1, but now that we are not ready (to do it), we have postponed it to Aug 1.

“Of course, this is just our target date, whether we can implement it smoothly (as planned) depends on the Customs Department’s preparations,” he said, adding that the department is the unit responsible for collecting the new tax.

He said the tax rate will be fixed at RM20 per room per night (at five-star hotels); RM10 per room per night (four-star); RM5 per room per night (three-star); and RM2.50 per room per night (twostar and below).

The Customs Department had earlier announced that it would start collecting the Tourism Tax from all hotels from August but Nazri stressed on June 9 that as the tourism minister his word counted and it would certainly be implemented on July 1.

The new tax did not go down well with Sabah and Sarawak, and it led to a nasty spat between Nazri and Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abduk Karim Rahman Hamzah.

On June 15, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said after chairing the Cabinet meeting that the spat between Nazri and the Sarawak government had been resolved and that it was agreed no more should be said on the matter.