Malaysia broadband could get tax incentive

Malaysia's government is considering a package of tax relief and other incentives to speed up the establishment of broadband infrastructure.

The Malaysian news agency Bernama said Wednesday that government telecom officials see tax changes as necessary to fuel expansion of the competitive broadband industry, which is focused primarily on scrapping for profits rather than upgrading service.

"How can you attract customers, if there are no infrastructure?" asked Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik.

Lim told Bernama said that although tax proposals would be too late for the current government budget cycle, the Finance Ministry had the authority to act outside the budget process.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International