LANGKAWI – Hoteliers and tourism players here want the the government to reconsider the move to impose duties on cigarettes and tobacco products from next year.
They said the sin tax will impact both domestic and international tourism, and encourage more smuggling by existing syndicates.
When tabling Budget 2021, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz announced an excise duty on cigarette and tobacco products beginning January next year.
It will cover tobacco products on all duty-free-status islands, including Tioman, Labuan and Langkawi, and zones where duty is exempted, such as airports.
Already grappling with a non-existent tourism market due to Covid-19, the withdrawal of the duty-free status will further impede the inflow of tourists, they said.
“The government may mean well to discourage smoking, but the timing is off as the priority now is to revive tourism, which is the third-highest contributor to economic growth,” said tourism industry veteran Eric R. Sinnaya.
Langkawi Chinese Chamber of Commerce president Lee Han Eng said: “We hope that the government could show empathy to the tourism business as the pandemic has impacted it in a big way.”
Datuk Noorazly Rosly, who leads the Langkawi chapter of the Malaysia Budget Hotel Association, said higher tobacco prices will encourage smuggling by syndicates.
He said Malaysia is already a global leader in the illicit cigarette trade. – The Vibes, November 18, 2020
