KUCHING, Oct 9: Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (Soppoa) has expressed disappointment with the federal government’s insistence on the implementation of a multi-tier levy system on foreign workers in the plantation sector by 2023.
The idea of the multi-tier levy system emphasised that the more foreign workers a plantation company hires, the higher the levy rate to be charged.
Soppoa chief executive officer Dr Felix Moh Mee Ho said hiring workers to work in the oil palm sector is according to the size of the plantation — usually one worker to every 10 hectares of land.
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sarawak oil palm plantations suffered great opportunity losses as the result of a labour shortfall, especially in harvesting and collecting oil palm fruits.
“Not to deny that the oil palm sector is the most taxed business in Malaysia. There are MPOB Cess, windfall profit levy, sales tax, export tax, corporate tax, etc which raise the total tax rate to as high as 54 per cent.”
Moh also noted that starting April 2022, it was compulsory for a plantation company with 10 or more Malaysian employees to pay a monthly levy charged at the rate of 1 per cent of the monthly wages of employees to a federal agency.
“Additional levy such as the multi-tier levy will be detrimental to the local plantation companies who have already lost their competitiveness to other palm oil producing countries,” he said in a statement today.
Moh added that plantation companies are fully aware of their responsibilities to contribute taxes to the government.
“However, during this (period of) macro-economic uncertainties and palm oil price volatility, the industry appeals to the federal government to be more reasonable and withdraw the intention to carry out the multi-tier levy on plantation companies.
“The federal government should accept the advice from the industry through numerous engagements, that the multi-tier levy system is not feasible and logical,” he added.
In the meantime, Soppoa also called upon the Sarawak government to assist in resolving the issue. — DayakDaily
