MNCF: Cycling is not a rich man's sport, reconsider SST

New Straits Times

5 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia National Cycling Federation (MNCF) hopes the government will reconsider its decision to impose a 10 per cent tax on racing bikes under the expanded Sales and Service Tax (SST) scheme.
MNCF secretary Arif Astaman said the move, which came into effect July 1, will affect development costs in the sport at both the grassroots and high-performance levels.
Racing bikes - better known as road bikes - were previously exempted from SST.
"There is an unfair perception that cycling is a rich man's sport which in reality is far from the truth," said Arif when contacted today (July 5).
"None of the riders in our programmes are from the T5 or T10 (income bracket) families. Those who the authorities perceive to be rich are recreational riders who ride their RM50,000 to RM60,000 super bikes to Pangsun on the weekends.
"As soon as the (tax) announcement was made we, the federation, wrote a letter to the Finance Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim), asking for the government to reconsider it.
"And if a reversal or reduction in tax is not possible, we have asked the government to consider giving us the power to issue end user certificates (for purpose of tax exemption) for riders under national and state development programmes.
"End user certificates have already been implemented by various government agencies and we ask that this power be extended to us as well.
"MNCF and the National Sports Council should have the authority to certify riders who are eligible for exemption from the tax when there is a need to buy new bikes for them.
"Otherwise, this new tax would cause a significant increase in costs for us to run programmes when in fact, these programmes are partly funded by the government itself.
"To add to that, there are no local Malaysian manufacturers or brands which produce racing bikes who need to be protected, such as in the automotive industry."
Arif added that the SST levied on racing bikes could cause parents to direct their children to other, more affordable, sports.
"Long before this SST on road bikes, other types of bikes such as BMX, folding and mountain bikes as well as items such as helmets, cycling shoes and spare parts have been charged a 15 per cent sales tax," said Arif.
"This is less than ideal when we are trying to advocate cycling for all and is something we have asked customs to reconsider for a while now."
Malaysia Pro Cycling (MPC) team principal Sayuti Zahit believes taxation on bikes should be implemented using a tiered system.
"I believe bikes under RM10,000, which for the most part only gets you an entry level road bike, should not be taxed," said Sayuti when contacted today (July 5).
"The tax should be gradually increased for bikes above that, or perhaps only start taxing once bikes are above RM30,000.
"Otherwise, this would place a huge burden on parents who may already be struggling to pay RM3,000 to RM5,000 for a bike for their 13-year-olds who are only starting to get involved in junior programmes."
Sayuti admitted that the SST on racing bikes is likely to hit MPC, a UCI continental road racing team, hard.
"High-end racing bikes cost a lot of money, especially time trial bikes. A time trial bike that would normally cost us RM70,000 would now cost us RM77,000, that is a lot for us," he said.
"Although we do have a sponsorship deal with bike manufacturers, we only get a discount and do not get our bikes for free."
While they may sound like simple sports to the uninitiated, road and track cycling racing are both technologically advanced disciplines.
A huge emphasis is placed on aerodynamics, structural rigidity, weight saving as well as drivetrain efficiency when producing racing bikes.
A decent bike for professional road racing costs in the region of RM40,000 to RM60,000. Time trial bikes cost even more while at the top end are track racing bikes.
The Vorteq WX-R track bikes used by the national squad at the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics cost RM20.5 million to develop over the two Olympic cycles and was listed at RM300,000 retail, per bike.