iPay88: Industry is NOT Mature Enough for Digital Tax

Date Received : 30-Oct-2018:
Location : Kuala Lumpur

iPay88 Holding Sdn Bhd (formerly “iPay88 Sdn Bhd”) (iPay88), an NTT Data company and a leading Malaysian-based provider of online payment solutions in ASEAN, today comments on the digital tax that could possibly be announced in the upcoming Budget 2019.

Executive Director of iPay88, Chan Kok Long shares, “The Digital industry in Malaysia is not ready for a digital tax. This is a sector that is still struggling to make profits. The Fintech industry, for example, has made inroads in disrupting the financial industry and changing the way we do business yet the players are still investing in the business rather than making a profit.”

Chan Kok Long
“On the other hand, the marketplace is still in infancy stage in Malaysia and many companies within the digital industry are still trying their best to break-even. At the same time, these new tech companies are taking risks while continuously investing in R&D to stay ahead. Taxing them now may even push them to collapse or seek other countries as their base,” he explains.

Chan believes the taxation of a young industry will lead to the players looking for greener pastures in neighbouring countries, which will be a loss to the country.

In supporting the digital economy, Chan hopes the government will defer the digital tax introduction until the digital sector is ready and when many companies in Malaysia can successfully conquer overseas market. He also proposes for the government to form a new ministry to handle digital and technology.

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