With tax season currently taking place, many Malaysians are gritting their teeth and crying while filing their income tax to the government.
As annoying as it may be to file your income tax, did you know that it has dire consequences if you fail to do so on time, including not being able to travel the world?
182,666 M’sians fail to file income tax, barred from travelling
According to Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying, a whopping 182,666 have been banned from travelling outside of the country by the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN) this year alone.
Out of this figure, 171,571 cases involved individuals with income tax arrears, while 11,095 cases involved property profit tax arrears.
“Before the travel restriction is enforced, the IRB will take preliminary action on errant taxpayers by sending several reminder letters and issuing tax arrears notification emails as well as making phone calls to the taxpayers involved.
“However, failure to settle tax arrears within the stipulated period will result in taxpayers facing restrictions on travel abroad,” said Lim as quoted by NST.
She was responding to a question posed by Senator Datin Ros Suryati Alang about the number of Malaysians being slapped with travel restrictions for failing to pay their income tax.
An increase from last year
This figure was an increase from that recorded in April 2023, where a total of 180,216 Malaysians were prohibited from flying overseas after they were found to have failed in paying RM7.93bil in tax arrears, reported The Star.
Ever since the travel restriction was introduced in 2022, LHDN has been imposing this rule on Malaysians who skipped on their income tax, including those who failed to pay an amount from as low as RM100.
FMT also reported that according to LHDN spokesperson Ranjeet Kaur, the highest amount owed by a single individual was a staggering RM1.884 billion.
Despite over 180,000 Malaysians being barred from overseas travel, the figure is still lower than 2022’s, where 197,190 individuals found themselves on the ban list and owed a collective amount of RM12.41 billion in tax arrears.
If you’re unsure whether you’re on the ban list, you can check your status through the MyTax portal or the Immigration Department website.
Please remember to file your income tax before the Apr 30 deadline!
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