KOTA KINABALU: Parents who send their children for sports training or undergo such activity themselves might qualify for personal tax relief starting next year, says Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
She said the proposal under Budget 2024 had been presented to the Finance Ministry.
This could be among the ways to encourage parents to send their kids for training, which would in turn help with sports development in the country, she added.
“Engagement sessions with the Finance Ministry are still ongoing and we have stated our intention for the tax relief for sports training,” she said after launching the Sabah Sports Industry Expo 2023 here yesterday.
Also present at the launch was Sabah Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ellron Angin.
Yeoh said tax relief was currently only given for the purchase of sports equipment.
“We want the tax relief to cover parents or anyone who spends on sports training.
“So, when people spend on sports training such as badminton or swimming lessons for their children, we hope the monthly fee can be used as personal tax relief,” she said after being asked what her ministry’s wishes were for Budget 2024.
She said such a tax relief would indirectly encourage people to practise a healthy lifestyle, besides getting children to be involved in sports from a young age.
It would also augur well for sports training services as it could benefit national athletes who would be spurred to become coaches due to a large pool of people looking for training, she said.
“We want to have this because we want the sports industry to develop. If Malaysians have a healthy lifestyle, then we will spend less at hospitals for treatment,” she said.
Yeoh said the sports industry contributed some RM14bil, or 0.9%, to the nation’s gross domestic product.
She expressed her optimism that this figure could rise.
