It’s official guys, the government today just passed the bill to tax digital services owned by foreign companies.
Starting January 1, 2020, we will be taxed 6% for these digital services. These services include software, music, video, and digital advertising, reported Malay Mail.
Yes, this means our favourite services such as Spotify, Netflix, and Steam will be 6% more expensive than what is charged now.
Other services that will be taxed include e-book subscriptions, subscriptions to cloud systems, usage of e-marketing platforms, and more.
Source: MyBroadband
This service tax was mentioned last year November during the tabling of Budget 2019, and today the Service Tax Bill 2019 was amended to include this 6% tax to digital services.
The Finance Ministry previously said, “for online services imported by users, foreign service providers will be required to register with Customs, apply and remit the relevant service taxes that will take effect starting January 1, 2020”.
According to FMT, this move is to level out the playing field between local players as foreign companies are currently not taxed. While we’re sure this is a fair move, we’ll just have to enjoy while it lasts lah! T_T
Also read: 21 Tax Reliefs Malaysians Can Get Their Money Back For This 2019!
