Many fear opening tax refund letters

KUALA LUMPUR: Tens of thousands of cheques for tax refunds go unclaimed every year as taxpayers are too scared to open letters sent by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), its chief executive officer, Datuk Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar, said.

“They think anything from us will cost them money. This mentality must change.

“It is the right of every taxpayer to receive a refund if he has overpaid,” Shukor said after visiting the IRB headquarters in Jalan Duta here yesterday, the last day for e-filing.

He said it was for this reason that the department had introduced the electronic fund transfer system for refunds.

“Even then, most people hesitate to give out their bank account numbers because they think we can get hold of their information and go after them for unpaid monies.”

He attributed this to “misinformation” about tax-related matters among taxpayers. He said there were those who filed their returns at the eleventh hour despite the two-week extension given by the department, which ended yesterday.

“A penalty of 20 per cent of the tax chargeable will be imposed on those who fail to submit their taxes on time. There will be no extension for e-filing as I do not see the need for it. There have been enough reminders and notices in the media about the deadline.”

He said this was the first time IRB had given an extension for e-filing.

The deadline for manual submission of forms was April 30.

Shukor said taxpayers did not have to wait until they got their EA forms to submit their returns.

“Most employers release their EA forms in March, hence, the last-minute rush. Employees can compile their pay slips, detailing their monetary standing, and fill up a form. We will do the rest of the calculation.

“If they cannot do so within the stipulated time, they can send an appeal and we will consider their requests, depending on our probe.”

IRB received 1.98 million tax submissions via e-filing this year compared with 1.79 million last year, an increase of 12.85 per cent.

“Out of 1.98 million, 1.74 million were submissions by salaried workers, while the rest were by employers and businesses.”


By V. SHUMAN