KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — The Dewan Rakyat yesterday approved the Tourism Tax Bill 2017 tabled by Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
Winding up the debate on the Bill, Nazri said the tax collected would be in the region of RM654.62 million if the overall occupancy rate for the 11 million “room night” in the country could achieve 60 per cent.
The Bill will allow the government to impose a levy on tourists staying at any accommodation premises made available by an operator at a rate fixed by the minister in accordance with Section 8. It shall be the duty of a tourist to pay the tax to the operator.
“With proper promotion and 80 per cent occupancy rate, RM872.82 million can be collected,” said Nazri.
He said the tax collected could provide a sustainable fund every year to develop the tourism industry and make it more competitive.
The tourism tax would be collected from premises used as accommodation for tourists, except homestays and Kampung Stay registered under the ministry, premises managed by institutions (education), premises used for training purposes and religious institutions where such facilities are not used for commercial purposes.
Earlier, the House passed the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill 2017, Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2017, Self-Employment Social Security Bill 2017, Private Higher Educational Institutions (Amendment) Bill 2017 and Labuan Business Activity Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017.
