Mazli Noor, vice-chairman 2 of PAS central’s economic, real estate and entrepreneur development committee, said its research showed that Grab pays no additional fees or taxes aside from the mandatory RM800 for each public service vehicle licence.

“While Grab is valued at some US$10 billion worldwide, its operations in Malaysia – with a significant 200,000 registered drivers – is still not duly taxed as other more conventional corporations in the country are,” he said in a statement.

He said the failure to appropriately tax the digital economy would mean a massive loss of potential income for the government, adding that a new tax scheme could help Putrajaya bridge its fiscal gap.

“With its rapid growth, it is only reasonable to expect the government to consider a comprehensive new tax structure that would encompass this new economy accordingly.

“This would also align it with efforts in countries such as France, the UK and several others in the EU, where new laws and digital tax structures are being drawn up to tackle even the largest of digital players, including Facebook and Google.”

He said analysts and rating agencies have already urged Putrajaya to upgrade its current tax structure to make it more equitable and comprehensive and increase the government’s financial resources.