interview with The Takeaway Table<\/a> that it\u2019s actually because of our entertainment tax.<\/p>\n\u201cWhen I was Minister of Youth and Sports, one of the first things I did [was table] a cabinet paper to waive entertainment tax when events are hosted in Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, and Sepang International Circuit. Why? Besides the bureaucracy, we have a 25% entertainment tax\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Given the high tax, it\u2019s understandable why a lot of international acts choose to avoid Malaysia altogether, but apparently, the entertainment tax also applies to the local film industry which explains why movie tickets are so expensive.<\/p>\n
Saddiq talked about Singapore\u2019s approach towards getting artists, such as Taylor Swift, and how inter-ministries \u201ccame together, pulled a fund, went abroad, and signed all-exclusive deals to come to Singapore and perform [for] five or six days.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also pointed out that for Malaysia to attract more international acts to visit, the government needs to \u201cstart thinking as an entrepreneur and stop being so afraid and close-minded\u201d.<\/p>\n
Music concert and festival cancellations are terrible but there are ways that you can get your refunds<\/a> when it happens.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here’s why your favourite performers skip Malaysia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":57508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[259,256,216],"tags":[1178,1181,1180,1183,1179,1182,1177],"class_list":["post-57507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chinese-new-year","category-lifestyle","category-news-updates","tag-beyonce","tag-festivals","tag-local","tag-muda","tag-music-concert","tag-syed-saddiq","tag-taylor-swift"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Why Foreign Acts Skip Malaysia<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n