THE Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) will take firm action against officers who have been threatening taxpayers and discharging their duties unprofessionally, said Lim Guan Eng.

In a statement, the finance minister said he had personally instructed IRBM to take action against new officers at the department who have taken advantage of the implementation of the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP).

“We have received complaints regarding some new officers at IRBM who have taken advantage of SVDP by discharging their duties unprofessionally, threatening taxpayers and not following work procedures in place,” Lim said.

He said there has been no change in the system and existing quantum of tax penalties for taxpayers in Malaysia.

“The only change that has been made is to stop raids on the taxpayers’ home at midnight by armed and masked officers as was done previously (National Revenue Recovery Enforcement Team operations).

“Other than that, nothing has changed,” he said.

The finance minister said a new email or letter will be sent by IRBM to replace the previous SVDP notification to avoid further misunderstanding.

Lim said the ministry received many inquiries from individuals regarding letters and emails from IRBM in relation to SVDP.

“SVDP is a tax initiative by IRBM that acts to facilitate those who have opened overseas bank accounts with income from Malaysia but that income has not been reported or taxed.

“Those who have received the letters or emails from IRBM should not feel concerned if they do not have a bank account overseas.

“Taxpayers with overseas bank accounts may voluntarily declare the income deposited in the overseas bank account whose sources are derived from income received from Malaysia but has yet to be reported or taxed,” he said. – February 10, 2019.