‘Road tax cannot be abolished as it is a major source of income’

KUALA LUMPUR: The road tax cannot be waived as it is the main source of income for the Road Transport Department, says Anthony Loke.

The Transport Minister said the department had an annual revenue of some RM4bil and half of it was from road tax collection.

“If the government waived everything, it will run out of resources then how will we run the country?

“People should understand that in any country, the government needs to collect taxes,” he said after launching the Kuala Lumpur DAP Convention 2022 here yesterday.

Loke said the decision to reduce the use of physical copies of the road tax was part of the ministry’s efforts towards digitalisation while removing the need for motorists to pay an agent to get the document.

“I know some have argued that it (the new method) makes it difficult for senior citizens and those living in rural areas with inadequate Internet connections.

“It is not mandatory – motorists can still use the stickers. We are trying to make changes without creating hardship for the people,” he added.

Last Friday, Loke announced that vehicle owners no longer need to display the hard copy of their road tax with the implementation of a digital version.

He said the entire digitalisation process would be carried out in phases.