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PONTIAN – The government does not want to amend the Income Tax Act, which stipulates that the administrator or next-of-kin of a deceased taxpayer has to pay any arrears.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said if the act is not implemented against executors and heirs, it is feared that the motivation and sense of responsibility to pay taxes will decline.
“We believe that if this (compulsion) is not done, there are parties who are irresponsible and unmotivated to pay taxes. They are waiting to die because then all debts do not need to be paid and debts with IRB (Inland Revenue Board) are settled.
“The matter is already (included) in the act and IRB informed that the amount (tax) charged is the amount of (taxable) income until death. If the heirs can pay the tax they should do so,” he said after a Raya event hosted by the Writers’ Association of Johor here today.
On May 11, IRB chief executive Datuk Mohd Nizom Sairi was reported to have said the next-of-kin of deceased taxpayers are fully responsible for their commitments, including income tax management.
Section 74 of the Income Tax Act 1967 stipulates that any arrears cannot be automatically written off even if the individual involved is certified dead.
On Wednesday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar was reported to have said that the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs’ Muzakarah Committee would meet soon to find a consensus on the payment of outstanding taxes by a deceased person, following a difference of opinion between two muftis, Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor and Pahang Mufti Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Osman, regarding the matter. – Bernama, May 19, 2023