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.
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