Taxpayers who do not have foreign bank accounts need not worry if they receive a letter or e-mail from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) under the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (PKPS).

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the programme is aimed at helping individuals with income obtained from sources within Malaysia that is kept in a foreign bank account but has not been declared or taxed.

“If the income has been declared to IRB or taxed and later channelled overseas, everything is above board according to the income tax laws.

“Opening a foreign bank account is standardised internationally, with further details about registration and taxation information required to be submitted to the foreign country’s authorities,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

IRB chief executive officer Datuk Seri Sabin Samitah had reportedly said earlier that the board had introduced the PKPS as one taxation solution for those who have not declared a taxable income that is generated from sources within Malaysia but that is deposited in a foreign bank account.

Under the programme, the government agrees to reduce the penalty from 300% to 10% if the disclosure is made on or before March 31, 2019 and to 15% if it is made on or before June 30, 2019.

source: The Star Online