Deloitte TaxMax Seminar 2018 calls for corporates and individuals to take advantage of newly announced tax amnesty programme

KUALA LUMPUR, 27 November 2018 – Tax experts from Deloitte Malaysia, together with keynote address speaker Dato’ Sri Sabin Samitah, Chief Executive Officer of Inland Revenue Board Malaysia (IRBM), gave insights on tax changes and development arising from the newly announced Budget 2019 to over 700 participants at its annual tax seminar, the Deloitte TaxMax 2018 – The 44^th Series.

Highlighting the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP), the Deloitte TaxMax encouraged both affected corporates and individuals to make the most of the SVDP, which offers a reduction of penalty rates for tax payable at 10% and 15%.

Themed “#ReadyMalaysia2019: A refreshed landscape”, the full-day seminar explored an extensive range of tax aspects including Industry 4.0, Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) rates, group relief, transfer pricing rules, tax losses and changes to the Labuan tax system.

Leading an engaged panel session on the refreshed taxation landscape with fellow industry experts, Sim Kwang Gek, Deloitte Malaysia Country Tax Leader said, “As the country attempts to improve its fiscal position and reduce the national debt, the revenue generating measures introduced in the budget are well within our expectations. The introduction of subsidised petrol and the abolishment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) means that the country needs alternative income streams in other areas, such as taxation.”

“To improve the country’s revenue while benefitting the taxpayers, SVDP encourages the rakyat to disclose their undeclared and under-declared income, or over-claimed expenses, reliefs or deductions,” said Dato’ Sri Sabin Samitah, Chief Executive Officer, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia. “Taxpayers can heave a sigh of relief as IRBM will accept in good faith any declaration made during the SVDP period,” he added.

The landscape continues to change with the acceleration of the adoption of Industry 4.0. “With the increase in digital adoption, IT budgets and headcounts are increasing, amid the presence of political and economic uncertainty. As our country prepares to embrace change and opportunities ahead, we see the government supporting this path by allocating over RM5bil to encourage and aid businesses – giving them more reasons to embrace technology,” said Kwang Gek.

“We are in the middle of a fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), with digitalisation and technology taking centre stage within various industries,” said Toh Beng Siew, Chief Financial Officer, IBM Malaysia. “Smart, connected technologies are transforming how parts and products are designed, made, used, and maintained. And by ushering in a digital reality, they are transforming organisations themselves. One of the most common and obvious manifestations of this change can be seen in the increasing adoption of digital supply networks (DSNs), which allow for the integration of data and information from disparate sources and locations to drive the physical production and distribution of manufactured goods,” she added.

“Yet, according to Deloitte’s survey, only 6 percent of respondents are part of a manufacturing ecosystem in which every member can see each other’s data. Clearly, there is room for improvement in terms of DSN adoption,” shared Kwang Gek.

Other headlines of the conference included transfer pricing and the new international tax landscape, MFRS 15 & 16 impact on tax and financial reporting, and the analysis of the recent tax cases.

The TaxMax Seminar 2018 – The 44^th Series featured external guest speakers Shaharuddy Othman, Director of Department of International Taxation and Karen Koh, Director of Large Taxpayer Branch of IRBM; Hew Wee Choong, Vice President, Investment & Industry Development of MDEC; Toh Beng Siew, Chief Financial Officer of IBM Malaysia; and Prof. Yeah Kim Leng, Professor of Economics of Sunway University Business School.