The tabling of the 2019 Malaysian budget is underway. Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng came up to announce that international online service providers will be getting taxed, including Netflix, Spotify, and Steam starting 1st January 2020.
According to Lim, this will help increase the competitiveness physical shops against online service providers, particularly foreign companies.
https://twitter.com/MOFmalaysia/status/1058276935531298816
At the moment, details on how the tax will be implemented are scarce. However, expect these international online services to receive a bump up in cost when 2020 arrives.
Netflix and Spotify are popular video and music streaming platforms, whereas Steam is a digital marketplace for PC games.
On a slightly different note, the government is also putting aside some of Budget 2019 towards the growth of esports in the country. Lim Guan Eng stated that the government would provide RM10 million to the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to develop and encourage esports as an activity amongst the younger generation.
RM10 juta untuk membangun dan menggalakkan E-Sports, sebagai sebuah aktiviti dan industri yang diminati oleh generasi muda, yang melibatkan jurutera perisian dan pemaju permainan digital. #Belanjawan2019 #eSports pic.twitter.com/LSeyfJsdlU
— ISN Institut Sukan Negara (@isnmalaysia) November 2, 2018
Considering that taxing a popular games platform such as Steam would drive the cost of gaming up, and that equipment required for gaming remains as pricey as it is, it will be interesting to see how the budgeted amount will be used to continue supporting esports in the country.
