KOTA BARU: The Kelantan government intends to impose tax for installation of utility cable in on land or in the sea to increase revenue to the state coffers.
Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob (pix) said the matter is being worked out after the state government rejected the Territorial Sea Act 2012 (Act 750), which set the sea border for each state to three nautical miles.
“Having rejected Act 750, with God willing, we will impose (tax) on any structure or pipeline, etc, that is installed on land or in the sea to obtain revenue,” he told the State assembly sitting here today.
He was responding to a question by Datuk Md Alwi Che Ahmad (BN-Kok Lanas) who wanted to know whether the state government impose taxes on utility cables that were installed at the road reserve areas.
In 2015, the Kelantan State Assembly passed a motion to reject Act 750 which was passed in Parliament in 2012. The implication of Act 750 is that each state will lose its jurisdiction over the area of the Continental Shelf to the federal government, besides limiting its territorial waters to only three nautical miles.
Earlier, Ahmad, who is also the state Land, Natural Resources, Economic Planning and Finance Committee chairman, said among other things that have been done to increase the state government’s revenue, included expediting the process of giving land ownership to individuals, subsidiaries, state and federal agencies, as well as to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and telecommunications companies for purpose of building utility structures such as substations and towers.
“Another is to impose usage charge for any construction activity in permanent forest reserves, including for installation of high tension line and fibre optic cable, and then to revise the tax on the affected land,” he added.
He was answering a question from by Mohd Adanan Hassan (PAS-Kelaboran) who wanted to know efforts made by the state government to increase revenue apart from revenue from land collection. — Bernama
