Issues

6% Service Tax

Oh my, come every prepaid user rush to the nearest shop that sells your respective telcos recharge cards!!

You’re most probably know what I meant by the so call shout out above. From 15^th September onwards,

6% service tax will be imposed on purchases of prepaid starter pack and recharge cards. So, for example buying a RM10 recharge card with the additional of RM0.60 of service tax, you will need to pay RM10.60 .

kaacchiinggg!! There goes the pocket money...

Why oh why??

Actually, service tax for mobile services has been implemented in 1998 but the telcos said they had absorbed the tax since the introduction of the Service Tax Act 1975.

The service tax was raised from 5% to 6% effective January 2011. Majority of telcos’ customers in Malaysia are prepaid users and the number is increasing. Therefore, in a joint statement, telco companies decided to impose the 6% service tax on their prepaid customers. This is to ensure prepaid services remain competitive compared with postpaid, given the high prepaid rates for both calls and SMS at its onset.