Pakatan Harapan should start by abolishing local taxes on hotels in Penang before it plans to abolish Putrajaya's tourism tax, which was officially implemented on July 1, Gerakan’s Youth chief Tan Keng Liang said today.

Tan reminded parliamentary opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail that there is a similar tax introduced by the Penang DAP-led government, under which the state imposes RM2 a day (for hotels below three stars) to RM3 (hotels above three stars).

Known as the Local Government Fee, the tax is levied on all hotels in Penang since June 2014, Tan reminded.

“What difference is there between the hotel tax under the Tourism Tax Act and the Local Government Fee introduced by the Penang government?” Tan asked in a statement.

“If the Opposition is sincere in abolishing such taxes against hotels in Malaysia, it would be best if it starts by abolishing the Local Government Fee on hotels in Penang. That’s clearly within its power and jurisdiction in Penang,” he added.

Tan was referring to the statement issued by Wan Azizah (photo) yesterday, where she said the opposition would abolish the Tourism Tax Act, which imposes a daily tax on hotel rooms occupied, if it wins the coming general election.

Criticising the federal government for bulldozing the enactment of the law in the last Parliament sitting on April 6, the PKR president said her party rejected the law, and it would table the Harapan proposal in its forthcoming presidential council meeting.

The new federal tourism tax ruling will see consumers paying an extra RM2.50 to RM20 per hotel room per night as the tourism tax.

The tax, which came into effect on July 1, caused an uproar, especially in Sarawak, where its chief minister Abang Johari Abang Openg said it might not come into effect yet as discussions were still ongoing on how to disburse the tax revenue.

On June 14, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state would continue to collect its local government fee on hotels despite the implementation of the tourism tax.

Lim added the state’s current room-based tax of between RM2 (for hotels below three stars) to RM3 (hotels above three stars) was hardly felt by users.

Meanwhile, Tan suggested that Wan Azizah should also table a proposal for the abolishment of the Local Government Fee on hotels in Penang at its coming Harapan presidential council meeting.

“It’s time for Wan Azizah, as the opposition chief, to show leadership in the matter and it is time to walk the talk on their policies. Otherwise, it would just be a repeat of another of the opposition’s political rhetorics,” he said.