Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah says he hopes the tax monies will be given to Sarawak in the first quarter of this year, which ends at the end of this month.
“We will wait and see as the Finance Minister has promised that it (tourism revenue tax) will be paid in the first quarter of 2019,” said Abdul Karim.
“The last month for the first quarter will be March 2019 and hopefully the monies are forthcoming by then,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Abdul Karim was responding to a news report quoting Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew as welcoming Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s announcement early this year that the federal government would distribute 50 per cent of the 2018 tourism tax revenue to all state governments in the first quarter of 2019.
However Liew said the Sabah government has yet to receive its share of the tourism tax revenue owed to the state. -TheBorneoPost
“We (Sabah) have not received any payments for the third quarter of 2017 (October-December) as well as for the period from January to December 2018.
“We genuinely need the 50 per cent share for intensifying our tourism promotion efforts, refurbishing tourism facilities and building tourism infrastructure in the state,” the Tawau MP said when debating on the motion of thanks on the royal address of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Liew, who is also Sabah Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, reported that the Sabah tourism industry recorded its highest receipts in history at RM8.342 billion in 2018, registering an increase of 5.3 per cent compared to RM7.83 billion in 2017.
“Overall, international visitor arrivals recorded an increase of 10.2 per cent while domestic arrivals rose by 2.8 per cent. China formed the main market source with a total of 593,623 visitor arrivals, followed by South Korea with 337,100 visitor arrivals. Singapore recorded a growth of 9.1 per cent the same year,” she shared.
The MP drew attention to the fact that Tawau has huge potential for tourism development, coupled with Tawau Airport’s position as the second largest in Sabah.
“As we all know, Tawau is an important gateway to the world-renowned diving sites at Sipadan and Mabul in Semporna as well as the world famous Danum Valley which serves as a tourism centre and a tropical forest research centre.
“The Tawau Airport is also the fourth highest in terms of passenger growth after KLIA, Kota Kinabalu and Pulau Pinang.
“I fully support the statement of the Minister of Transport (Anthony Loke) that infrastructure development, especially the proposed improvement of the Tawau Airport will not be a loss,” she said.
“We will wait and see as the Finance Minister has promised that it (tourism revenue tax) will be paid in the first quarter of 2019,” said Abdul Karim.
“The last month for the first quarter will be March 2019 and hopefully the monies are forthcoming by then,” he said when contacted yesterday.
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However Liew said the Sabah government has yet to receive its share of the tourism tax revenue owed to the state. -TheBorneoPost
“We (Sabah) have not received any payments for the third quarter of 2017 (October-December) as well as for the period from January to December 2018.
“We genuinely need the 50 per cent share for intensifying our tourism promotion efforts, refurbishing tourism facilities and building tourism infrastructure in the state,” the Tawau MP said when debating on the motion of thanks on the royal address of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Liew, who is also Sabah Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, reported that the Sabah tourism industry recorded its highest receipts in history at RM8.342 billion in 2018, registering an increase of 5.3 per cent compared to RM7.83 billion in 2017.
“Overall, international visitor arrivals recorded an increase of 10.2 per cent while domestic arrivals rose by 2.8 per cent. China formed the main market source with a total of 593,623 visitor arrivals, followed by South Korea with 337,100 visitor arrivals. Singapore recorded a growth of 9.1 per cent the same year,” she shared.
The MP drew attention to the fact that Tawau has huge potential for tourism development, coupled with Tawau Airport’s position as the second largest in Sabah.
“As we all know, Tawau is an important gateway to the world-renowned diving sites at Sipadan and Mabul in Semporna as well as the world famous Danum Valley which serves as a tourism centre and a tropical forest research centre.
“The Tawau Airport is also the fourth highest in terms of passenger growth after KLIA, Kota Kinabalu and Pulau Pinang.
“I fully support the statement of the Minister of Transport (Anthony Loke) that infrastructure development, especially the proposed improvement of the Tawau Airport will not be a loss,” she said.
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