Govt may exempt locals from paying tourism tax at hotels rated 3-star and below

PETALING JAYA: There are plans to exempt locals staying at three-star hotels and below from the new tourism tax, said Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.

“There are certain categories of people, such as locals, staying at three-star hotels and below who may be exempted. We are studying this and will be making an announcement soon,” he told reporters after launching the Global Entrepreneurship Competition here Wednesday.

He said that collection of the tourism tax would be handled by the Customs Department, which has a system in place with regard to the classification of hotels.

The tourism tax is set to be enforced on July 1, with hotel guests charged between RM2.50 and RM20 for overnight stays depending on the type of hotel.

The tax is RM2.50 for non-rated hotels, RM5 for two-star, RM10 for three-star, RM15 for four-star, and RM20 for five-star hotels.

Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said the revenue collected would be used to promote Malaysia overseas and refurbish tourism facilities.

The tax is expected to bring in RM654.62mil, assuming a 60 per cent occupancy rate at over 11 million hotel rooms in the country.

-thestar online.