Langkawi MP Suhaimi Abdullah said the resort island could be empowered to manage local council taxes, land taxes and licences, as well as introduce levies for tourism, hotels, the environment and ferries.KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya should consider granting Langkawi more fiscal autonomy to manage its taxes and use the revenue for local development, says Suhaimi Abdullah (PN-Langkawi).
He said that while the island had generated billions of ringgit from tourism, a large portion of the tax revenue went into federal coffers, although various levels of government had to bear development and service costs.
Suhaimi suggested a decentralised “Langkawi Fiscal Autonomy Model” based on arrangements in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, or in Switzerland where each of the 26 cantons enjoys a high degree of tax autonomy.
