The 2022 Budget was short on outlining any initiatives to enable Malaysia to build a more sustainable tax revenue base. The review of the tax incentives
regime has yet to be finalised and hopefully, some progress will be announced in the coming Budget.
We expect the 2023 Budget to outline a more structured mid to long term reform of the tax system, so that we can have a more sustainable tax system. Malaysia needs to, in the medium term, broaden the scope of the existing Sales and Service Tax (SST), and ultimately make it a broad-based
consumption tax with added features such as tax invoicing similar to a Value-Added Tax.
We should also have a more inclusive capital gains tax and move quickly on an efficient integrated national tax agency, in order to have a more sustainable tax.
Tax Treatments To Review
Currently, fees paid to tax advisers and company secretaries for the various services rendered on tax and corporate compliance matters are subject to restriction. Furthermore, the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) recently issued the Corporate Tax Governance Framework (Framework) to enhance companies’ processes and governance on income tax matters.
The Framework expects the involvement from the board of directors, audit committee and senior management to set up appropriate checks and balances on tax reporting.
However, the IRBM states that costs incurred for advice and assistance to develop the Framework are considered to be capital in nature and therefore not tax deductible. This further irks businesses as such expenses are incurred to encourage corporate governance.
For a more sustainable tax, another area to review is the exclusion of Intangible Assets from the definition of the term “Plant” in the 2021 Budget. This has resulted in cost incurred such as computer software, licences, trademarks, patents, films, copyrights etc are no longer eligible for capital allowances or tax depreciation, despite these being assets utilised in the production of taxable income.
This is truly surprising, given the Government is leading the push from brick-and-mortar businesses to a digitalised and knowledge-intensive
economy. Engagements have been held among various parties and it is hoped that in the upcoming Budget, the IRBM would review those tax treatments.
A More Sustainable Tax Structure
As a country, we cannot keep on borrowing and servicing debt. We should remove unnecessary exemptions and deductions, and simplify things
to enable all to be part of the tax net. There is a need to push on towards a reliance on consumption taxes, in order to achieve a more sustainable tax.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has stated in the Pre-Budget Statement in June that tax reform initiatives with the objective of broadening the
tax base, as proposed by Tax Reform Committee, will continue to be implemented.
The initiatives include:
- a) Undertaking a review of broad-based incentives, reliefs and deductions
- b) Improving tax administration through comprehensive registration of taxpayers
- c) Better training of tax personnel
- d) Improved registration of cross-border trade
- e) Strengthening the tax audit and investigation
- f) Enhancing legal certainty for taxpayers
Necessary details on the aforementioned will need to be spelt out in the 2023 Budget.
On the international front, Malaysia has committed to implement several agreed upon tax standards to create a competitive business environment for investors and to counteract cross-border tax evasion activities. To date, we have implemented four minimum standards of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plans, while continuing to review the rest of the Action Plans under our domestic tax law.
Domestically, the tax net can be widened by tracking down those who should be within the tax net. That means curtailing tax evasion, curtailing smuggling, registering those who should be registered as taxpayers, and devising strategies using the tonnes of data that various agencies
accumulate to ensure that all who should be taxable are indeed taxed.
In the Budget 2022, several initiatives were introduced to manage revenue leakages, including:
- a) Removal of tax exemption on foreign-sourced income received in Malaysia by a Malaysian tax resident
- b) Introduction of the Tax Compliance Certificate as a precondition for tenderers to participate in Government procurement
- c) Implementation of a Tax Identification Number (TIN)
It was a surprise when a five-year exemption of the tax on foreign income was announced subsequently. Even Singapore and Hong Kong, which have similar tax systems to Malaysia do not have such a time-based exemption period.
However, the implementation of Tax Compliance Certificate and the TIN are very good compliance initiatives to reduce leakages, but more details are needed.
In line with the 12th Malaysia Plan to strengthen digital services infrastructure, the digitalisation of the tax function will be implemented with e-Invoicing to be done in stages. This will enhance the efficiency of the country’s tax administration, reduce compliance costs to taxpayers, and
increase the efficiency of business operations. E-Invoicing will also support the use of TIN as a measure to expand the income tax net.
The Auditor General’s report has stated time and time again about losses and waste in the public sector. Greater accountability on where our tax ringgit goes and how it is utilised is essential to further narrow the trust deficit that exists, which is a factor why some are reluctant to pay their taxes.
A more sustainable tax structure for the future is probably in the pipeline. But such matters can be excruciatingly slow in coming into fruition, due to the lack of political will and vested interests.
All said, the 2023 Budget may turn out to be an election budget, with a slew of populist measures to score brownie points that may damage the country’s rather fragile fiscal momentum. Against this backdrop, debt and inevitably debt service charges, will rise.
Given that Malaysia’s narrow tax base means high concentration revenue risk to the overall economy, its fiscal vulnerability could increasingly become a trigger factor for sovereign rating downgrades by international credit rating agencies. Here’s to a more sustainable tax structure for a better Malaysia.
About the Author
Dr Veerinderjeet Singh is a tax observer who is the Non-Executive Chairman of Tricor Malaysia. He is the Immediate Past President of the MIA and MICPA, and a Past President of CTIM. He is a strong advocate of tax reforms and sits on the boards of a few public entities. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Monash University Malaysia, as well as a Vice Chair of the Global Tax Commission at the International Chamber of Commerce based in Paris.
