Malaysians Will Probably Have to Pay GST for Netflix and iflix Soon

Malaysians recently got into the streaming craze a few years ago, especially since most of these services are pretty affordable!

Well, it looks like customers of streaming giants, Netflix and iflix, and other similar streaming services will have to pay more if they want to continue watching their favourite shows, and it might happen in the very near future.

Recently, news of a digital tax possibly coming into effect set off alarm bells among Malaysian netizens, who were not sure about how the taxes would affect their expenses. This digital tax is reportedly part of the proposed amendments to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act.

So, online streaming services will also be subject to GST according to these proposed amendments.

Moreover, the Customs Department had previously proposed amendments to the GST Act that would include foreign companies that do online business with Malaysian customers.

Currently, Malaysians need not pay GST when they purchase products or services from e-commerce sites. However, since GST is now soon to implemented on these digital service providers, consumers can expect a slight price increase. After all, these companies may pass on the tax by adding it to their existing rates.

“We need a modern, comprehensive and progressive taxation system to tax revenue from the digital economy,” director-general Datuk Seri T. Subromaniam told The Star, adding that amendments to the act have already been submitted to the Finance Ministry and will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat later this month.

On a separate note, Suboramaniam said that they have a target of RM1 billion from GST for Q4 of 2017, and he’s optimistic of achieving this. During the recent GST conference 2017, he even said that “we can easily collect a couple of billions of ringgit (from digital economy taxes). It runs into several billions.”

So, although nothing is set in stone just yet, brace yourselves for a possible price hike on your Netflix or iflix bills in the future. *Gulp*

 

Also read: Malaysians are Concerned About the New Digital Tax, Here’s What You Should Know