WONG CHEN CATCHES AHMAD MASLAN IN A LIE: Which law says billionaires’ tax bill must be kept SECRET?

Malaysia Chronicle

This morning Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim asked if the government is willing to disclose how much income tax the top 20 richest persons in Malaysia, collectively pay. He did not ask the Minister to disclose individually how much each of them is paying. He asked for a collective sum.

The Minister Ahmad Maslan later said that he cannot disclose the information because section 138 of the Income Tax Act forbids him to do so.

I have read section 138 and here is my response.

First, there is no provision in section 138 that says that a collective number cannot be disclosed. Income tax is happy to say that it will collect RM140 billion this year from 2.3 million tax payers and 100,000 companies. That's a collective number. So why can't they announce a collective number of how much the combined 20 richest persons pay?

Second, section 138(2)(c) actually ALLOWS the Minister unfettered powers to disclose whatever information he sees fit.

So there you have it.

To quote X-files: A Minister can say what he wants but "the truth is still out there".

Yesterday Ahmad told the Dewan Rakyat he could not disclose the tax paid by the top 20 richest people in Malaysia as it goes against Section 138 of the Income Tax Act.

He was responding to Anwar, who named the son of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Mokhzani, and business tycoons T Ananda Krishnan and Vincent Tan as among the top 20 richest people in Malaysia.

When asked by PKR MP for Bayan Baru Sim Tze Tsin to give a lump sum figure instead, Ahmad said he needed to check if this is allowed.

Anwar: Berapa cukai 20 orang hartawan M'sia bayar?

Khairy disagrees with hike in driving school fees

(The Rakyat Post) – Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had told Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai that he disagreed with any hike in driving school fees.

He said the hike would burden consumers who were struggling to make ends meet.

“The hike will cause the youth hardship. By raising the fees, it could also cause the number of youths driving without licence to increase, and we don’t want that.”

He said this at a press conference after presenting 150 orphans, aged 2 to 18, from Kuala Lumpur, one complete set of Raya clothes, either a Baju Melayu or Baju Kurung sponsored by Jakel.

The Umno Youth chief said the gift of Baju Raya was part of the wing’s effort to help out the “urban poor” that existed in cities and which was a phenomenon that could not be fully eradicated.

Commenting on Umno Youth’s proposal to charge an entry fee for Singapore cars, he said the Youth wing was waiting for a cabinet paper by the Transport Ministry before it made any decision.

“I have told Liow of our decision and we will wait for the cabinet paper before saying anything else,” he said.

Umno Youth proposed the government impose a fee on Singapore cars entering Malaysia in a bid to counter Singapore’s decision to increase the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) and Goods Vehicle Permit (GVP) permit fee for vehicles entering the country.

‘Demo 16 Disember? Mereka gila!’

Kita akan naikkan hanya dalam lingkungan 2%...yang buat bising ni kawan-kawan yang tidak ada otak

KUALA LUMPUR: Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan (WP) Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor menyifatkan tindakan Pakatan Rakyat yang mengajak rakyat melakukan demonstrasi membantah kenaikan cukai pintu pada 16 Disember depan itu sebagai ‘gila’.

Katanya, hanya 10% daripada 500,000 pemegang hartanah di Kuala Lumpur yang membantah kenaikan harga tersebut malah wakil rakyat Pakatan sudah hadir mendengar penjelasan namun masih berdegil dan mahu meneruskan rancangan tunjuk perasaan.

“Sudah 21 tahun cukai pintu tak berubah dan kita akan naikkan hanya dalam lingkungan 2%…yang buat bising ni kawan-kawan yang tidak ada otak, dia tak tahu,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan majlis pecah tanah bangunan baru Umno Bahagian Batu di sini hari ini.

Ahli Parlimen Putrajaya itu bagaimanapun mengakui kesilapan di pihak Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) apabila tidak memberitahu kepada pembayar cukai dengan tertib dengan menghantar surat rasmi.

Sebaliknya hanya memaklumkan melalui Notis Menyemak Semula Senarai Nilaian bersaiz kecil yang diedarkan bulan lalu kepada semua pemilik rumah dan premis sekitar Kuala Lumpur.

Beliau menegaskan, dirinya sesekali tidak akan ‘kelentong’ rakyat dengan kenaikan cukai tetapi mahu semua pihak faham tindakannya itu akan memberikan keuntungan sama rata kepada pemilik premis dan juga DBKL.

Katanya, pihaknya akan memutuskan kadar bayaran selepas selesai sesi pendengaran dan penilaian proses bantahan oleh panel DBKL, namun memberi jaminan kenaikan itu tidak akan berlaku secara mendadak.

“Tunggulah saya buat keputusan. Saya berikan keadilan kepada rakyat tak seperti pembangkang,” katanya.

Setiausaha Agung Umno itu kemudiannya membidas Pakatan Rakyat dengan mendakwa berlaku kemasukan pengundi luar ke kawasan Parlimen Batu semasa Pilihan Raya Umum lalu (PRU13).

“Semasa berhenti di Pasar Sentul saya naik pening. Mereka tak peduli tentang kebersihan, sangat kotor sebab mereka bawa pengundi daripada Seputeh ke sini (Sentul),” katanya.

Pakatan Rakyat merancang untuk akan mengadakan perhimpunan membantah kenaikan cukai pintu pada pukul 11 pagi di Dataran DBKL, di sini selain mahu mendesak Datuk Bandar Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib meletakkan jawatan.

Sementara itu, ditanya mengenai berlakunya kemungkinan ‘tsunami Melayu’ semasa PRU14 nanti, beliau menganggap perkara itu mustahil sambil membidas laporan Utusan Malaysia yang disifatkannya sebagai satu ‘pandangan peribadi’.

Beliau turut mengingatkan masyarakat lain supaya tidak melatah dengan cadangan perwakilan Umno pada Khamis lalu yang mahu slogan salam ’1Malaysia’ digantikan dengan ’1Melayu’.

Tegasnya, apa saja keputusan yang dibuat kerajaan dan Barisan Nasional (BN) adalah berdasarkan persetujuan secara konsensus walaupun masyarakat Melayu dan Umno adalah populasi majoriti.

“Ini forum orang Melayu, dia boleh cakap apa yang dia mahu. Begitu juga kalau bila tiba perhimpunan MCA dan MIC mesti akan cakap perkara yang sama tentang perkauman dan ketidakadilan, kita tak kisah.

“Tetapi kenapa bila Melayu cakap benda ni mahu diperbesarkan,” soalnya ekoran gesaan yang ditimbulkan Perwakilan Umno Pulau Pinang Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir berdasarkan pengalamannya ‘ditikam’ kaum lain semasa PRU13.

Apply zakat policy of rebate to all citizens

(Malaysiakini) The current tax policy is unfair as proceeds from zakat, an Islamic tax, is used exclusively for the development of Muslims through the building of mosques and other amenities, said senator S Ramakrishnan.

The senator, who is also an accounting lecturer, called on the government to be fair to all Malaysians by giving non-Muslims a similar tax rebate like zakat.

Ramakrishnan urged the government to amend the tax legislation so that Malaysians of all religions are treated fairly in the spirit of '1Malaysia' when computing their income tax.

According to Ramakrishnan, donations to a temple or church by non-Muslims are calculated differently for tax purposes by the Inland Revenue Board.

Ramakrishnan, who has been teaching accounting for the past 20 years, said Muslims get a discount from paying income tax because they also contribute to zakat.

A Muslim gets a rebate from paying zakat, whereas the non-Muslim gets only a relief when donating money to religious organisations.

The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) told Malaysiakini that a rebate can be deducted from the zakat as the contribution under Islam is considered a tax.

In the case of a non-Muslim who has donated to an approved church or temple, he will get a deduction along with other reliefs (such as personal, wife and children relief) but ended up paying relatively higher income tax because his religious contribution would not be treated as a rebate.

Zakat compulsory for Muslims

IRB chief executive officer Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar stressed the Income Tax Act 1967 did not discriminate against race or religion and the comparison of the tax payable by a Muslim against a non-Muslim is misleading.

He cited the Income Tax Act 1967, Section: 6A(3) wherein it states “a rebate shall be granted for any zakat, fitrah or any other Islamic religious dues, payment of which is obligatory.”

“A Muslim has to make two compulsory payments levied on the same source of income every year, namely income tax and zakat.

"Therefore, this rebate was given to relieve a Muslim from the burden of 'double taxation' on the same income. Please note that the zakat must be administered by official authorities under the purview of state governments.

“Donations, on the other hand, are voluntary in nature and made to privately-run non-profit institutions. These institutions, which may also include Islamic religious organisations, can apply for tax exemption status so that donations are tax deductible.

“As for the non-Muslims, they have the choice to make donation to approved organisations/institutions and claim for relief up to 10 percent of their aggregate income.

“Zakat allowed as rebate is limited to the amount of tax to be paid by the individual. Therefore, if the zakat is more than the tax to be paid, the excess amount could not be claimed as refund or be carried forward.”

Shukor (right) proposed that any amendment to the law as suggested by Ramakrishnan should be forwarded to Finance Ministry so that it could be approved by the cabinet and discussed in Parliament before it could be implemented by IRB.

Ramakrishnan said that non-Muslims earning a similar annual income compared to Muslim would end up paying higher taxes.

“It is estimated that 90 percent of the people paying income taxes in Malaysia are non-Muslims. Whilst those who contribute to zakat (tax deductible from the net tax), the tax is given solely to state religious bodies.”

The senator added: “When a non-Muslim do their religious obligations (donations or tithes), it is not tax deductible unless the church or temple has applied and obtained the approval for tax exemption.

“It is a very tedious task for non-Muslim religious organisations to get any approval for tax exemption and it is very stringent and often not approved by the government.”

Ramakrishnan called on the government and Prime Minister Najib Razak to amend the laws and raise it in Parliament so that the freedom of religious practice as enshrined in the constitution be made consistent with tax legislation.

Questions posed to IRB

Why when a donation is made to a church or temple, they do not get tax exemption whilst a contribution to zakat is allowed?

Mohd Shukor Mahfar: For the Muslim, paying zakat (tithe) is one of the five pillars of Islam and it is a must, not an option for those who meet the requirement, at 2.5 percent of net income received. Zakat is a tax for Muslims, not a donation, and therefore it is treated as rebate to avoid the same income to be taxed twice.

Zakat allowed as rebate must be paid to religious authority under any written law, which is Lembaga Zakat. But zakat paid to individual or charitable organisation would not be allowed as rebate.

As for other religions, their followers could still claim for deduction for the amount that they have donated as long as their place of worship is approved under Section 44(6) Income Tax Act 1967. Donation, as oppose to zakat, is not compulsory.

To get the approval, application must be sent to our Tax Policy Department, Jalan Duta. For further information and guidelines, please refer to this page.

Why is it difficult for temples or churches to get tax exemption?

The guidelines given are prepared for all organisations or institutions regardless of faith/ religion. Approval is given if the organisation/institution fulfilled the criteria in the guidelines and when all requirements are fulfilled including submitting proper paperwork and complete supporting documents. Some applications might take longer to be approved should the paper work or supporting documents submitted were incomplete.

Up to this date, there are 1,300 organisations/institution/funds have been approved under Section 44(6). The list of organisations/ institutions/funds could be viewed here.