IRB: FOREIGN DONATIONS TAXABLE
We cannot generalise, but need to look into it on a case-by-case basis, says IRB’s chief executive officer
INLAND Revenue Board (IRB) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Sabin Samitah said foreign donations are taxable, on a case-by-case basis. “We cannot generalise but need to look into it on a case-bycase basis. I cannot elaborate further as I am bound by the secrecy provisions,” he said in response to claims by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that donations from foreign countries are not subjected to local tax laws.
Sabin was speaking to reporters after officiating at the Malaysian Tax Conference — Malaysia Baru’s Tax Reform Agenda — organised by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and Malaysian Association of Tax Accountants.
Last week the IRB slapped Najib with an additional tax bill of RM1.5 billion owing to the government for not declaring his taxable income of almost RM4 billion, between 2011 and 2017, which included the RM2.6 billion that he had insisted was a donation from Saudi Arabia.
Last year, Najib had admitted that he did not verify the source of the RM2.6 billion that ended up in his bank account, which had
allegedly been siphoned from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Speaking at Al Jazeera’s 101 East show, the former prime minister had said that he had assumed the money was a “donation”, connected to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud after the latter gave assurance of his support for Najib.
Najib is facing multiple charges linked to funds belonging to 1MDB and its former unit SRC International Sdn Bhd. His 1MDBlinked trial began yesterday.