Naimah must pay up RM313.8mil in tax arrears, rules High Court

 

Naimah Khalid is seeking a judicial review to quash the Inland Revenue Board’s  demand to settle her tax arrears dating back to 2018. (Bernama pic)

SHAH ALAM: 

The High Court has refused to grant Naimah Khalid, the wife of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, an interim stay of an order compelling her to pay tax arrears of RM313.8 million to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).

Justice Shahnaz Sulaiman said Section 103(1) of the Income Tax Act (ITA) 1967 stipulates that all tax assessed shall be due and payable on the due date whether an appeal is pending before the special commissioners of income tax or not.

She noted the Federal Court had previously ruled that under the Act, taxes must be 

paid first and disputed later

.

She said any tax collected from Naimah can be refunded by LHDN if an appeal is successful.

Shahnaz said the apex court had also ruled that taxes must be collected expeditiously in the public interest.

This court is satisfied there are no exceptional circumstances in this case, as the respondent (LHDN) is authorised to collect taxes under the ITA 1967,

 she said in a judgment released today.

She said the seemingly enormous sum due in tax was not a sufficient reason for the grant of a stay, adding that what amounts to a large sum was 

relative

.

“To the man on the street, a tax assessment of RM30,000 may be massive. Yet, as provided for under the ITA 1967, the man on the street is still required to make payment of this amount. The law applies equally to all.

This court finds this argument untenable,

 she said.

Naimah had applied for an interim stay pending the disposal of her application for judicial review over LHDN’s decision to issue notices of additional tax for the year of assessment 2018 on Aug 13.

She wants the court to quash LHDN’s demand for payment of RM313.8 million in tax arrears.

She contends that LHDN had cited the wrong provisions in the ITA 1967 when issuing the notice demanding payment.

She also said that since January, LHDN has questioned her about an increase in her shareholding in Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd, and claimed she used unreported income to pay off a loan between Ilham Baru, Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Welberton Private Equity Corp.

LHDN also said Naimah owns several properties in the US which she allegedly failed to declare, namely units at the Nantasket Beach Resort Hotel in Massachusetts, Chauncy Place, and Hotel Buckminster and Annex in Boston.

The board claims these properties are worth more than RM700.6 million.

However, Naimah said the properties in question were purchased more than 30 years ago and cannot be valued using the market price as of 2018.

Lawyer DP Naban and Darshini Sharma represented Naimah, while revenue counsel Ahmad Isyak Hassan acted for LHDN. - FMT