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Malaysia puts brakes on luxury car owners skipping out on US$8.5 million in road tax
Owners of over 6,300 Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Bentley, Ferrari and Porsche cars have not been paying for the privilege, minister reveals
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Malaysia lost US$8.5 million in unpaid road tax after politicians and VIPs skipped payments on their Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, a revelation that has triggered public anger over double standards and elite impunity.
Across Asia, anger at elite privilege is boiling, with resentment over the perceived excesses of “nepo babies” toppling the government in Nepal and sparking protests in the Philippines. Indonesians are pushing back against the owners of luxury vehicles abusing sirens to cut through traffic, which appears to be a curse reserved only for the ordinary public.
For Malaysia, annual road tax receipts levied on every vehicle at varying rates amount to almost 5 billion ringgit (US$1.2 billion), one of the highest sources of revenue behind customs duties and income tax.
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But on Wednesday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke revealed that owners of over 6,300 vehicles from just five luxury marques – Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Bentley, Ferrari and Porsche – had not been paying for their driving privileges.
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“Overall, just these five types of vehicles have reached almost 35.7 million ringgit in unrenewed road tax,” Loke said at a press conference at his office in Putrajaya. “This amount involves less than 10,000 vehicles but the value of the arrears is massive.”
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