KUALA LUMPUR (May 27): Malaysia's Inland Revenue Board (IRB) is addressing taxpayers' non-compliance more vigorously this year to ensure consistent and sufficient government revenue collection for nation building, chief executive officer Datuk Sabin Samitah said.

The Edge Malaysia business and investment weekly in its latest May 29 to June 4 issue, quoted Sabin as saying the IRB had no "hidden agenda" and that the money collected from taxpayers went into the Treasury. Sabin said money in the Treasury was used for government spending based on the country's budget. 
 
"There is no hidden agenda, as whatever we do is ultimately for the benefit of the people. The target for tax collection is not new to the IRB. It is set annually by the Ministry of Finance based on economic projections and other relevant variables. Likewise, enforcement against tax evaders is also something that has been part and parcel of our operations since day one.

"IRB acts as an agent for the government, by collecting the right amount of tax from persons liable to tax in Malaysia. Every sen collected goes to the Treasury and is then used by the government according to the annual tabled budget. Therefore, speculation that a portion of the money collected goes into a bonus pool for IRB officers and so on is not true," he said.

According to Sabin, taxpayers' non-compliance, whether a failure to report the correct income or pay taxes within the stipulated time, did not only affect the government’s revenue, but was also unfair to compliant taxpayers who contributed to the nation’s building without fail. 

He said the IRB's strategies this year were based on the principles of making compliance easy and non-compliance difficult.

"We have taken steps to increase the quality and convenience of our services to facilitate taxpayers who consistently pay their taxes. Our aim is to increase tax awareness and voluntary compliance, and reduce tax leakages" Sabin said.

For a better understanding on the IRB under Sabin's leadership, kindly pick up and read the latest issue of The Edge Malaysia.

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