GOV'T NEVER DISCUSSED INTRODUCING CHATGPT SUBSCRIPTION TAX - FAHMI

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 (Bernama) -- The government has never discussed any proposals to introduce a subscription tax on ChatGPT as mentioned on social media, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

He said it is common knowledge that any proposal for a new tax must be brought to Parliament and not just discussed at the Cabinet level.

"To date, we have not discussed this matter, whether in the Cabinet or among ministers, regarding the proposal to impose a tax (on ChatGPT).

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"We also did not hear about this in Budget 2025 presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, so in my opinion, this matter should not be entertained," he told reporters after attending the 2024 MADANI Deepavali Open House here today.

The celebration, organised by the Digital Ministry, was attended by Anwar, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, other Cabinet members and deputy ministers.

On another matter, Fahmi said Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) and Khazanah Nasional should be given time to explain their RM43.9 million losses after selling their stakes in the e-commerce platform FashionValet Sdn Bhd for RM3.1 million.

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“We're monitoring the issue. I have not yet gotten the full report about what exactly happened.

“This came up from a parliamentary response. So I think we have to give them a little bit of time to explain themselves. It was public money, and of course, a lot of people are asking,” he said. 

On Oct 29, the Finance Ministry revealed in a written parliamentary reply that Khazanah and PNB lost  RM43.9 million from the sale of their minority investments in FashionValet.

In 2018, Khazanah invested RM27 million and PNB RM20 million for minority stakes in FashionValet.

-- BERNAMA