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KUALA LUMPUR - The Selangor government has been asked to waive entertainment duties levied on the creative industry, cinema operators and restaurant owners for 2022.
Since January 2021, the state government has imposed 15% entertainment duty on all arts and stage performances by local artists and 25% entertainment duty for performances by international artists.
This is a heavy cost to shoulder for local artists and crews, and it is based on this that Industries Unite (IU) has presented an appeal from the Arts, Live Festival and Events Association to the Selangor government to waive the entertainment duty on ticketed performances.
“Fifteen percent entertainment duty on all arts and stage performances by local artists is an undue heavy burden to the industry that is just recovering from elongated lockdowns.
“Even before Covid-19, the industry was already struggling to produce shows to cover its production costs.
“Many artists persevere with their crafts out of sheer passion and love of the arts.
“The imposition of the duty could very well be the final nail in the coffin for many struggling artists and will set back the development of the performing arts industry for many years,” they said in a statement yesterday.
IU is a group of 120 trade associations and chambers of commerce, serving 3.3 million businesses.
They urged for 0% entertainment duty for arts and stage performances by local artists, a collection of 5% for arts and stage performances by international artists and a waiver to apply until 2026 to help the industry recover.
In addition, they had listed down ten explanations to reason with the government, showing how the current 15% duty is too extreme in today’s times.
They explained how everyone involved in the industry has had to go through nearly two years without income and livelihood, and how venues would not make as much money as before as there is a maximum of 50% seating capacity due to social-distancing rules.
Moreover, they highlighted how several states and federal territories have reduced their entertainment duty to zero, hence performers and producers would end up choosing venues outside of Selangor, which brings the state to a disadvantage.
IU also brought up the fact that required venue sanitation will also cause a burden in budgets.
“Cost of producing a show has increased to adhere to SOPs (standard operating procedures) and disinfection of the venue, as well as due to the ongoing supply chain disruptions.
“We believe that our appeal is reasonable in the light of the current state of recovery of the creative industry in Malaysia,” they said.
Similarly, they also proposed a second appeal for the Selangor government to improve state policies and regulations for business owners.
They pressed for better communication and clarification on SOPs as businesses had been subject to unfavourable enforcement actions, some because of misalignment between federal and state bodies.
IU also urged for more clarification on the entertainment licence for playing music in stores and to give thorough explanation on the official process flow for alcohol licence renewals.
“Upon approval of the renewal to the actual print out of the licence, there can be a delay of no less than three months.
“In the gap, it leaves business susceptible to rogue enforcement.
“We believe with technology, the entire process can be expedited,” they said.
Additionally, the current busker licence fee of RM20 should be reduced and waivered for this year.
On December 12, the performing arts community had called out the state government to waive the entertainment duty, which required an upfront payment of 15%, completely.
The government had reduced the rate from 25% to 15%, however, many felt that this was still a heavy burden especially since the industry was closed from the beginning of the pandemic. – The Vibes, January 23, 2022