SARAWAK Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Karim Hamzah said the state will not follow the footsteps of states like Kedah, Penang, Malacca and Sabah in imposing a heritage tax to swell the state’s coffers.

The state does not want to pile further financial burden on its citizens, Karim said in response to federal Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz’s suggestion that the state could implement the tax to replace revenue lost from levies imposed on hotels and lodging houses following the introduction of the tourism tax on September 1.

The heritage tax is similar to the hotel and lodging houses tax, as it is collected by the local government which is under the jurisdiction of the state.

Karim said the state did not want to impose the heritage tax as the people were burdened by “so many taxes”, in reference to the federal Goods and Services Tax, and Tourism Tax. 

“It’s not really good for the industry.”

He said the imposition could also dampen the development of the state’s tourism industry.

Karim and Nazri had clashed over the imposition of the tourism tax after the Sarawak minister accused his federal counterpart of not respecting Sarawak by failing to consult the state over it.

Sarawak and Sabah still view tourism as a state matter, arguing that it was surreptitiously added to the federal list, under schedule 9 of the constitution, in 1994.

Sarawak had argued that as tourism was not specifically discussed during talks leading to the formation of Malaysia, the matter should be on the residual list. Under the constitution, matters on the residual list are vested to the state.

Karim said last month the state was now taking steps to remove it from the federal list. – September 11, 2017.