Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying revealed that as many as 182,666 Malaysians have been banned from international travel by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) this year due to income tax arrears. Specifically, 171,571 cases involved those with income tax arrears, while another 11,095 cases involved those with property profit tax arrears.

This figure is a slight uptick from the number that was reported last year in April; back then, LHDN said that it had barred 180,216 individuals from international travel for the same reason – with the highest amount owed in arrears being RM1.884 billion. Meanwhile, in 2022, a total of 197,190 travel restrictions were imposed on Malaysians due to income 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,” Lim explained.

Lim also stressed that LHDN will frequently use various platforms to remind all taxpayers to check their travel status ahead of any planned overseas trips. This is to ensure that their travel plans are not disrupted.

“Taxpayers can check the status of tax arrears through the MyTax portal, in addition to checking travel restrictions on the Immigration Department website if there are restrictions enforced by other agencies,” the deputy minister further said.

To note, all Malaysians are required to file their income tax each year during the tax season, which runs from 1 March to 30 April (manual filing) or 15 May (e-Filing) for resident individuals. If you’ve yet to do so this year (for year of assessment 2023 (YA 2023)) and need some assistance and clarification, here’s our comprehensive guide to help you out.

(Source: New Straits Times)

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• Lim Hui Ying
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• Travel Ban