The people have come off the losers in the deal Sarawak has struck with Putrajaya to keep the tourism tax revenue for itself, says Sarawak DAP.

“The Sarawak government became the loser despite the tantrum Abdul Karim threw trying to create a big issue of the matter,” said Sarawak DAP leader Chong Chieng Jen, referring to Sarawak Tourism Minister Abdul Karim Hamzah’s row with Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz over the tax.

“The biggest losers are the people in general. They are subjected to double taxation. They pay GST for the hotel services and now they pay the second tax, the tourism tax.  

“At the end of the day, the Sarawak government gave in to their Umno counterparts at the federal level,” he said in Kuching, today. 

Yesterday, the federal government announced that Malaysians staying at hotel rated three-stars and below are exempt from paying the tax. 

The tax rate is RM20 for five-star and RM15 for four-star accommodations, chargeable on a per-room, per-night basis.

There are 30 five-star and and 14 four-star hotels in Sarawak, a search on travel website Booking.com shows.

Karim said yesterday that tax revenue collected n the state would go into the state coffers.

Karim was also hopeful that Sarawak would get a deferment on the tourism tax, scheduled to go into effect on July 1.

He did not elaborate as to how the state government would go about collecting the tax.

Meanwhile, Chong found fault with the Sarawak government’s decision to withdraw from the Malaysian Tourism Board (MTB) last week. 

“With a representative inside, there’s at least a channel to voice your objections. Now what’s happened is that the Sarawak government has pulled out of the MTB and you’ve lost that channel and you still pay the same tax as in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said. 

Chong expects more “double-taxation schemes” and “similar policies”. 

“As long as BN (Barisan Nasional) is government, they’ll squeeze the people. As the coffers run dry from economic mismanagement and corruption, the government will continue to think up new excuses to collect more tax from the people. 

“This tourism tax is just the beginning,” he said.

The state government has denied that its withdrawal from MTB has to do with the tourism tax. 

Foreign tourists are expected to pay RM10 for three-star, RM5 for two-star and RM2.50 for non-rated accommodation, per room per night.

Putrajaya has said it stands to collect RM655 million in tax revenue. – June 23, 2017.