Gaming firms in Sabah to absorb the 6pc GST
KOTA KULAMBU: Gaming companies in Sabah will absorb the
six per cent Goods and Service Tax (GST) after its
implementation in April 1, said Datuk Dr TC Goh.
"We have been directed by the Ministry of Finance who is
our licensed authority and with the consent of the
Customs Department to bear the six per cent GST.
"Therefore, the 6 per cent tax will be part of our
expenses…we will absorb it or the other way around is to
convert into the total revenue making it 2.4 per cent,"
he said on Monday.
However, Goh who is the President of Everise Ventures
Sdn Bhd (EVSB), the managing company of Sandakan Turf
Club (STC), explained that under the special scheme set
by the government, they will deduct the pool betting
duty, gaming tax, the prize they need to pay to the
winner, pay out ratio, pay out winning prize money from
their total revenue.
"If our total nett is positive, then we're required to
pay six per cent tax to the government but if it is
negative, then we're not required to pay," he said,
adding that they are not allowed to carry forward any
draws in terms of losses.
Goh also explained
that punters pay 15 per cent sales tax imposed by the
State Government. "So we will collect the tax from the
punters and pay it to the government. Therefore, you can
see that the number forecast industry is selling RM1.15
per unit whereas in peninsula, they do not have this. |
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"There is sales tax in Sarawak but they only pay 7.5
which means RM1.75 but we are selling it for RM1.15.
Therefore, this is an uphill task for the number
forecast industry in Sabah generally," he said, adding
that 2015 will be a challenging year especially after
the implementation of GST.
According to him, the various high taxes imposed by the
Federal and State government, Customs Department as well
as Inland Revenue Board will definitely affect their
sales revenue.
"There will be less competition among licensed operators
compared to the illegal ones. "Therefore, we urge the
government and of course the authority to look into this
problem and take necessary actions against those illegal
operators to protect legal operators and government
revenue.
"As you can see, we pay a lot of taxes
and if our revenue drops then the government will
receive less taxes as well," he said, stating that they
are not allowed to increase their selling or change the
prize payout unless they received an approval from the
government.
"STC is one of the operators in Sabah and we have Sports
Toto as well as Diriwan 88. Out of these three, STC is
the only company which has one product, which is 4D. The
rest of the operators have three or more products.
"So we are among the smallest and the only Sabah-based
company," he said, stating that the increase of products
is subject to the government's approval.
Goh also said that the number forecast is a sunset
industry as it is preferred among adults above 50.
"Malaysia is one of the oldest countries to operate the
industry but we are getting fewer punters among
youngsters.
"Youngsters don't really like the 4D
game. They prefer other games such as soccer, machine
based and others. That's why it's a sunset industry
because it will affect our annual revenue when we have
lesser senior citizens. "As a local operator, we have a
lot of social obligations to perform so this is going to
be quite challenging," he said.
Source:
Daily Express
, dated
10/02/2015 |
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