Your Favourite Artistes are Skipping M’sia? Syed Saddiq Says it’s All Due to Our 25% Entertainment Tax

After an electrifying show by Muse during the weekend, the fact remains that many international artistes have chosen to skip Malaysia in their tour dates, which is bad news for many concertgoers. 

Their reason to skip our country has never been revealed but Syed Saddiq knows why we’re always being skipped like we’re the least favourite child, and it’s not really about the rules & regulations that the performers have to stick to. It’s more about the taxes.

For illustration purposes only

The co-founder of MUDA, Syed Saddiq said that the fact that many international performers are looking away from Malaysia is depressing. 

“If they pick Malaysia, it means Malaysia becomes the destination of choice for entertainment tourism.”

Saddiq said that we cannot afford to miss out on things like this today but unfortunately, something called entertainment tax is what’s putting us behind, according to him. Back then when he was the Minister of Youth & Sports, Saddiq attempted to waive the entertainment tax, which is as much as 25%. 

“When events are hosted, we have an entertainment tax of 25%!”

For your info, entertainment tax also applies to the local film industry. If you take a look at your purchased movie tickets, part of the charge is for entertainment tax.

The amount of tax imposed makes it even tougher for the organisers to make money, and there’s a place where we should learn from – Singapore.

“Deals, deals, and deals”

To set an example, Saddiq mentioned Singapore, a country which he praised in terms of how they “make a deal for a living”.

“You think they waited for Taylor Swift? Their inter ministries and agencies came up with a fund and travelled abroad during Covid and signed all exclusive deals.”

The deals include the number of days to perform and it is usually agreed between both parties. So when Taylor Swift agreed to 6 nights in Singapore, imagine how much the entertainment tourism in the country was boosted, and we’re talking about Taylor Swift alone.

“They’re smart. They spend SGD1 but they earn SGD5. We need to start thinking like an entrepreneur and stop being so afraid, so close-minded.”

You can listen to what Saddiq said in an interview with The Takeaway Table below.

@thetakeawaytable

now we know why it’s so hard for our faves to perform here ?‍??‍? #syedsaddiq #concerts #malaysia

♬ original sound – The Takeaway Table – The Takeaway Table

Do you agree with his take on why Malaysia is being skipped by international performers again and again? 

Also read: “I’ll be a good citizen” – M’sian Netizens are Asking PM10 to Bring Taylor Swift in For a Show