Malaysians do not need to panic if they receive a letter from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB). Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Chong Chieng Jen explained that the letter is part of the government’s voluntary disclosure scheme aimed at getting people to pay their taxes.
Malaysians across the country have been receiving official letters requesting that they openly declare their incomes. Should they do so before the income tax season ends, they will not be subject to any further investigations from the board.
On the other hand, those who have been paying their taxes, have nothing to declare, or are earning below the RM3,000 per month threshold can safely ignore the letter.
Additionally, those that have been avoiding paying taxes will be subjected to reduced penalties during this time. The IRB will only charge an additional 10% penalty on unpaid taxes before 31 March, or 15% on those who disclose their income between 1 April and 30 June 2019.
After this period, the penalty will return to its normal range of between 100% and 300% of what is owed to the IRB.
Chong said that he understood that Malaysians were reluctant to pay taxes under the Barisan Nasional government because they feared it would be misused by corrupt officials.
However, he said that the new regime would use taxpayer money to its fullest.
