GSC Grateful To Government For Reducing Entertainment Tax

The company expressed gratitude to the government for reducing the entertainment tax in the 2024 budget plan.

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Golden Screen Cinemas is grateful to the government for reducing the entertainment tax. The company’s CEO Koh Mei Lee, welcomed the government’s decision to reduce the entertainment tax from 25% to 10% for cinemas in the 2024 budget plan.

“This reduction in tax has made entertainment accessible and affordable to the everyday rakyat, aligning perfectly with our corporate vision and furthering our shared goals,” she said in a statement.

She also added how this move serves as a testament to the government’s commitment to uplifting the local entertainment industry.

In fact, she acknowledged how important this decision is for the industry, especially since it was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic for a few years.

“This decision is timely as Malaysia is recovering from the impact of the pandemic and the reduction of the entertainment tax will undoubtedly play a significant role in revitalising our business.

“It is an encouraging step that will help in boosting the post-pandemic recovery of the entertainment industry and will enable us to continue bringing world-class entertainment to our audiences.”

As such, the company will work closely with the government to continue fostering an environment that is conducive to creativity, innovation, and growth.

Aside from the reduction, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also announced a special income tax rate, ranging from zero to 10 percent.

This is to garner an interest among foreign film production companies, film actors, and crews to come to Malaysia, as part of its efforts to promote foreign film productions in the country.

Healing past losses

The move will surely be extremely helpful to GSC and other local cinema companies in the country. In fact, it will make up for the losses they made during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As Koh previously mentioned in 2020, the company suffered revenue losses of up to 90 percent during that year as it had to cease operations due to the pandemic.

“The industry is incurring losses of RM1.3 mil a day, which translates into a total loss of RM475 million in 2020, compared with a profit of RM102 million in 2019,” said Koh back in 2020.

Therefore, it is great that the government is taking such a measure to assist local cinemas in moving on from the past effects of the pandemic.

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