Ministry to meet state govts to discuss entertainment tax reduction

PUTRAJAYA: The Communications and Multimedia Ministry will hold a meeting with the state governments to discuss the proposal for entertainment tax to be cut or reduced, says its Deputy Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin.

Through the meeting, he said he would propose for the local authorities not to impose excessive entertainment tax on the country’s art and film industry.

"If possible, we want to ask local authorities not to impose very high (entertainment) taxes as currently, they (art practitioners) have to pay

25% to local authorities.

"If the local authority imposes a very high entertainment tax, it will hamper the development of the film industry, and its quality,” he told reporters after launching a drama titled “Penanggal Mak Kiah” here today.

The collection of entertainment tax is under the jurisdiction of the local authority in the respective state, and presently, the entertainment tax in Malaysia is 25%.

Previously, Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman proposed for the entertainment tax be cut as an alternative to improve the country’s art and film industry.

Zahidi, in his speech at the event, said that the government, especially the ministry, gave full support to industry players to increase the number of local works, and increase the income of creative industry players.

He said that the government supported the efforts of local film and drama producers, by offering a Digital Content Grant (DKD) via the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas), an agency under the ministry.

From 2017 until June this year, an allocation totalling RM180.824mil was channelled to industry players who received the DKD offer, as a move to produce local works of various genres. - Bernama