Deloitte expects more sign-ups for Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP) before expiry in June

Kuala Lumpur, 9 January 2019 - Taxpayers who may have misreported their tax filings or did not declare their income to the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) are expected to take full advantage of the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP) in the coming months, according to Deloitte.

With six months left before the SVDP period closes, penalty rates of 80% to 300% befall those who have yet to voluntarily disclose their unreported taxes or may have misrepresented their past filings. During this disclosure period, SVDP offers a heavily reduced penalty rate of 10% or 15% to eligible taxpayers, with declarations accepted in good faith by the tax authority.

Focused on increasing awareness of the SVDP to corporates and individuals, Deloitte Malaysia tax experts and IRBM officials shared insights, best approaches and prevailing case studies on the SVDP at an exclusive SVDP Seminar for C-suites and senior management executives.

Sim Kwang Gek, Country Tax Leader of Deloitte Malaysia applauded the timely introduction of SVDP by the government and stressed on the importance of providing complete disclosure in financial reporting and tax filing. “Practising transparency is an organisation’s biggest asset. It helps with management and organisational credibility, and can boost investors’ trust and positively influence the performance of an organisation while protecting shareholders’ interests.”

Presenting the keynote address at the seminar, Dato’ Sri Sabin Samitah, Chief Executive Officer of IRBM said, “SVDP aims to attract at least one million taxpayers with an estimated RM10 billion in tax collection. This is a golden opportunity for taxpayers to come forward voluntarily as the disclosures made will be taken in good faith by the IRBM. Access to various sources of information on taxpayers and the use of big data enables the IRBM to track delinquent taxpayers. As the saying goes ‘you can run but you cannot hide’ and hence, taxpayers are encouraged to take advantage of the SVDP, a one-off initiative offered by the Government.”

Moderating the dialogue session which included Dato’ Sri Sabin Samitah, Chow Kuo Seng, Tax Audit & Investigation Leader of Deloitte Malaysia said, “We are proud to see the government focusing on increasing compliance, instead of increasing income tax rates. In the weeks following the announcement of SVDP, we have helped clients take advantage of this golden opportunity to voluntarily disclose and be transparent in their financial reporting to enhance business competitiveness, increase management credibility while lowering the cost of capital.”

The SVDP tax amnesty programme was announced during the National Budget 2019 by the Minister of Finance, and expires on 30 June 2019. With two months left for taxpayers to benefit from a 10% penalty (disclosures made by 31 March 2019) or a 15% penalty (disclosures made from 1 April to 30 June 2019), taxpayers are encouraged to act fast while the IRBM accepts in good faith all voluntary disclosures made during the SVDP period.

For more information on the services provided by Deloitte Malaysia, please visit www.deloitte.com/my or contact Sim Kwang Gek, Country Tax Leader of Deloitte Malaysia at kgsim@deloitte.com.

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