Malaysia’s Taxation System

Foreword

Preface

About the Malaysian Tax Research Foundation

About the Contributors

Introduction to Taxation in Malaysia
Mohamed Ariff, Yeah Kim Leng

Contemporary Taxation Laws and Practice
Kanchana Chandran, Kalpana Chandran, Paul Linus Andrews

Implementation Issues and Challenges: A Taxpayer’s Perspective
Jeyapalan Kasipillai, Noor Sharoja Sapiei

Tax Collection: Issues and Challenges
Mohamed Arif, Mohamed Najib

Taxing Issues on Deferred Income
Chang Chee Fei, Ng Shir Li, Ng May Yee

Talent Management in Tax Administration
Marhaini Mahmood, Aina Hartini Hussin

Taxation, Fiscal, and Monetary Policies: A Bottom-Up Perspective
Mohamed Ariff, Yeah Kim Leng

A Cross-Country Comparison of Taxation Systems
Chung Tin Fah, Mohamed Ariff, Yeah Kim Leng

Australia’s Tax Reform Experience: Lessons for Malaysia
Binh Tran-Nam

The Way Forward: Challenges and Opportunities for Tax Reforms and Research
Veerinderjeet Singh

Index

Mohamed Ariff, PhD, is Head of the Economics and Finance Department at Sunway University, Malaysia. He has 27 years of academic experience across Singapore, Australia, Japan, United States, Ireland, and Malaysia. His scholarly works on taxation and on accounting/economics/finance have become standard reference materials in higher learning institutions around the world. He is the co-editor of this book.

Yeah Kim Leng, PhD, is Professor of Economics at Sunway University, Malaysia. He is also Deputy President of the Malaysian Economic Association, Trustee of the Malaysian Tax Research Foundation, Member of the National Consumer Advisory Council at the Malaysian Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, and Member of Bank Negara’s Monetary Policy Committee. He was Group Chief Economist of Malaysia’s first credit rating agency for 20 years. He is the co-editor of this book.

Aina Hartini Hussin, presently retired, was with the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia for 20 years. Throughout her career, she held various positions and led divisions in the Logistics, Corporate & People Management Department and the Malaysian Tax Academy. She holds a Biotechnology degree from Universiti Putra Malaysia and a master’s degree in Occupational Safety and Health Management from Universiti Utara Malaysia.

Binh Tran-Nam, PhD, is Professor at UNSW Sydney, Australia and the founding Editor-in-Chief of eJournal of Tax Research. His research on taxation, international trade, and development economics has culminated in 10 books, 45 book chapters, and 85 scholarly articles. In 2015, he was awarded the prestigious Australasian Tax Teachers Association Hill medal for his contribution to Australasian tax teaching and policy.

Chang Chee Fei, PhD, is Associate Professor at Sunway University, Malaysia lecturing on revenue law and accounting. He previously held key positions in management reporting, tax planning, internal control, and corporate finance at several private and public firms including a foreign direct investment entity. He is a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, United Kingdom.

Chung Tin Fah, PhD, is Associate Professor at HELP University, Malaysia. He has more than 30 years of industry experience, having worked at Bank Negara, Securities Commission Malaysia, Social Security Organisation (SOCSO), and various investment banks. He is also an independent member of Bursa Malaysia’s Market Participants Committee, providing consultancy for Bursa Malaysia, the Malaysian government, and the World Bank.

Jeyapalan Kasipillai, PhD, is Professor at Monash University Malaysia and since 2012, a Fellow at the Taxation Law and Policy Research Institute in Melbourne. He is a fellow member of the Institute of Certified Practising Accountants (FCPA), Australia; the Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators (FCIS), United Kingdom; and the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia (FCTIM). He is a prolific author whose book A Guide to Malaysian Taxation (2019) is now in its fifth edition.

Kalpana Chandran is a Solicitor with Hogan Lovells Int. LLP, a top-tier global law firm in London, United Kingdom where she works with some of the world’s largest corporations in some of the most significant, challenging and high-value commercial disputes in the world. She brings a unique perspective to the practice of law, combining the best qualities of the bar and traditional law firms.

Kanchana Chandran is Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Commercial Law and Justice, Sunway University, Malaysia. She is a dual-qualified Solicitor and Barrister of England and Wales and an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and conference papers, and regularly receives invitations to speak at international conferences.           

Marhaini Mahmood, PhD, has 28 years of experience in taxation and is Director of the Enterprise Risk Management Division at the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia. She is a trained Certified Risk Governance professional by the Enterprise Risk Management Academy of Singapore. She has been invited to give talks on enterprise risk management at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, France and public agencies in Malaysia.

Mohamed Arif, PhD, has been with the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia for over 15 years. He is currently Senior Research Officer in the Tax Research Department. He also holds a master’s degree from National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan.             

Mohamed Najib, PhD, started his career in 2001 at the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, where he was attached to the Tax Collection Department, the Kuala Lumpur Investigation Centre, and the Special Task Department. He is currently Senior Research Officer in the Tax Research Department.

Ng May Yee, PhD, holds an LLM from the University of Northumbria and a degree from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrator in the United Kingdom. She previously served as a company secretary to an investment bank in Malaysia. She is now Assistant Professor of Law at Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, teaching various law subjects at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Ng Shir Li, PhD, has over 10 years of experience working at various accounting firms and academic institutions across Malaysia and Australia. She currently lectures on various accounting modules at Sunway University, Malaysia. Her research interests lie in the areas of corporate governance, international financial reporting standards, integrated reporting, and accounting theories.

Noor Sharoja Sapiei, PhD, is Senior Lecturer at University of Malaya, Malaysia, specialising in taxation. A member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, United Kingdom, she also holds an MBA from University of Malaya. She has published extensively on taxation compliance costs, compliance behaviour, corporate governance, and other tax-related matters.

Paul Linus Andrews, PhD, is Head of the Centre for Commercial Law and Justice, Sunway University, Malaysia. He is EXCO member of the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (Selangor), Committee Member of the Constitutional Law Committee of the Bar Council Malaysia, and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, United Kingdom. His co-authored publications have appeared in Halsbury’s Laws of Malaysia (LexisNexis, 2002), Equity and Trusts in Malaysia (Sweet and Maxwell, 2005), and Law for Business (Sweet and Maxwell, 2018).

Veerinderjeet Singh, PhD, is Chairman of Axcelasia Group and Axcelasia Taxand Sdn Bhd. He is also Trustee of the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, Vice President of the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Council Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, and Member of the Commission on Taxation of the International Chamber of Commerce. He was previously President of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia and Chairman of the International Fiscal Association-Malaysia Branch.

Yong Mun Ching holds a master’s degree from Monash University Malaysia and professional memberships in the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants. She has over 15 years of experience in both industry and academia, having worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and more recently Taylor’s University, Malaysia. She is currently pursuing her PhD at Monash University Malaysia.