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Yoursay: IRB’s failure to seek Najib’s taxes earlier speaks volumes

YOURSAY | ‘Being a prime minister then made Najib a uniquely special person indeed.’

Lawyer: Income tax demand will bankrupt Najib, disqualify him as MP

Vijay47: Lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, I hope that you attend to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s 1MDB problems with much more intimacy regarding the relevant law than you have revealed in his income tax issues.

Any rookie tax agent or accountant will know that when the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) comes a-calling with a civil suit for taxes unpaid, Section 103 of the Income Tax Act 1967 unkindly holds that taxes under an assessment shall be due and payable, whether or not the person appeals against the assessment.

Worse, Section 106 even more unkindly continues the torture where it says that in any proceedings, the court shall not entertain any plea that the amount of tax is incorrect or under appeal.

But in very special extenuating circumstances, the court may bend an ear to the taxpayer’s woes. However, sadly for your client, the fear of bankruptcy and the consequential losing of membership in Parliament, which he hardly attends anyway, is not numbered among the very special extenuating circumstances.

As far as the IRB is concerned, cash is king, a phrase I am sure you no doubt are quite familiar with.

I believe in chess, Najib’s predicament is called “checkmate”.

Bruclax: Every honest citizen with taxable income must pay taxes. No one is above the law.

There are many Malaysians struggling to pay tax due to family commitments, but still not avoiding this obligation.

If you cannot, then you face the consequences. Whether you are an MP, prime minister, or big boss, you pay.

Roar For Truth: This case only shows IRB was not doing its duty until now, due to new political pressure from the Pakatan Harapan government.

It was common knowledge that IRB closed one eye and shut the other when it came to pleasing their political master.

So, who in the Harapan government is now enjoying IRB’s "buat tak tau" (feigned ignorance) exemptions? This is another failed government institution used for political purposes.

Mission Accomplished: No one is above the law, and no double standards please.

Najib was the former prime minister cum finance minister. He should be very familiar with the law against offenders.

Najib was given sufficient notice and warning. He chose to ignore all of them. Let the full force of the law fall on him.

Tidak Harapan: The rooster has come home to roost. I remember the IRB raided businesspeople who criticised him, and made them pay hefty taxes before talking.

Pay up first. Now feel the heat that you so lovingly heaped on others.

Anonymous 5237890145285379: Well, Muhammad Farhan, Najib was the prime minister and he knows full well that the policy of the income tax department is for taxpayers to pay up all taxes first, and then discuss tax rates or any unfair policy later.

He was a prime minister, so I assume he did find the tax policy to be totally fair, or otherwise he should have changed the policy when he was the prime minister. He should just live with it since he agreed to the policy. Why go to court?

At least, he can afford a lawyer to fight his tax cases. For ordinary Malaysians, we can’t afford any lawyers. Did you expect sympathy to be shown to him?

Well That’s Fantastic: But he should pay his outstanding income tax before he can challenge the IRB’s lawsuit. If he has spent his money or stashed it overseas, he should find it and pay what is owed.

There will be no other opportunity for the government to retrieve this money. They should stick to the law, and not make a special exception just because he is an MP.

Fair Play: Well, well, well. That is the objective, purpose, and now the eventual result. Pay first and talk later has always been IRB policy. All taxpayers are treated equally. Why should Najib be the exception?

Anonymous 2407511459164293: Why has he been defaulting on tax payments since 2011? Why didn’t he appeal earlier? This excuse can't stand in court. He is evading taxes.

Hang Babeuf: If Najib ends up as a bankrupt, he will have been bankrupted by the action of one person and one person only - Najib himself. So he should stop asking and begging for our sympathy.

The Wakandan: The IRB lawsuit to recover tax payable by Najib only shows that this kleptocrat never paid his taxes fully. For seven years he did that and no action was taken.

Being a prime minister then certainly made him a very uniquely special person indeed.

It would not be a surprise if this finding by the IRB actually tells that there are many more people, especially VVIPs, who escape paying tax. And what massive amounts those would be, as Najib’s figures show us.

If he needs to pay more than one billion ringgit, one can only imagine the amount of money that was in his possession.

Fair & Unbiased: While you were the prime minister, why didn't you do away with this dastardly unfair ruling of "pay first, talk later" if you truly feel that this is such an unjust regulation?

Now you are in the hot seat, you plead for preferential treatment. You can jolly well face the same music that all of us have to put up with.

Kural: One would assume that the IRB’s enforcement standards are rarely, if never, compromised at this stage of the adjudication process.

Considering the national governance status of the alleged defaulter and given the almost one decade cumulative default uncovered, one wonders what could be more frivolous than this request for a stay of application of the proceedings.


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