KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — Tourism-related associations have expressed hope that the government will increase the Sales and Services Tax annual threshold for the hospitality industry from RM500,000 to RM1.5 million through Budget 2024.
“Even though the room rates offered by these budget hotels are similar to that of unlicensed operators, they become more expensive due to SST and no longer attract customers to book,” he told Bernama. According to him, the government has lost tax revenue due to unlicensed businesses where the parties involved are not bound by legal regulations to pay taxes such as SST, Tourism Tax and the set tourism or hotel fees.
Malaysian Tourism Agency Association president Datuk Mohd Khalid Harun hoped the government could provide a specific allocation for training more local workers in the tourism sector to reduce dependence on foreign labour.