Abdul Karim: Tourism tax exemption for Malaysians is good news
KUCHING: Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has welcomed the federal government’s move to exempt Malaysians from the tourism tax.
“Any news where Malaysians do not have to pay additional taxes is always good news to all.
“I am glad that the Malaysian public is exempted from this tourism tax and hopefully the Finance Minister (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) will confirm this good news,” he said.
Abdul Karim said this yesterday in response to the announcement by Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that Malaysians would be exempted from paying the tax.
The tourism tax exemption applies to all Malaysians regardless of whether they choose to stay at luxury hotels or budget inns, said Nazri.
“Whether they stay at five-star or zero-star hotels, all Malaysians are exempted from the tourism tax,” he told the House yesterday.
Nazri had previously said that only Malaysians who stayed at hotels rated three-stars and below would be exempted from the tax.
Foreign tourists, however, will be subjected to the tax and will have to pay a flat rate of RM10 per room per night for all types of hotels and accommodations.
Nazri added that for every RM10 collected, RM1 would be returned to the respective state governments to fund their tourism promotion activities.
The tax is expected to come into effect this Aug 1, and will be enforced by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department.
Najib is expected make an announcement on the matter soon, said Nazri.