Social media influencers cry foul for being subject to taxman wrath; must declare all income, freebies

 

Let me tell you how it will be
There’s one for you, nineteen for me
‘Cause I’m the taxman
Yeah, I’m the taxman
Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don’t take it all
‘Cause I’m the taxman
Yeah, I’m the taxman
(Chorus from The Beatles’ 1966 hit song, Taxman)

 

SO went the opening lines to Fab Four’s 1966 hit from the album, Revolver. Those words still ring true today as it appears no nook or cranny which the taxman will not crawl to get his piece of the action as social media influencers found out today.

The song is surely in sync with the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) having recently issued new guidelines requiring social media influencers and/or digital creators to declare all their income, including free goods, gifts or promotional items received.

Influencers must also keep records of all income and supporting documents for seven years for audit purposes while LHDN has the authority to amend or revoke the guidelines if necessary.

It was also added deductible expenses such as internet and content production can be claimed under the Income Tax Act 1967 while personal or capital expenditures are not eligible.

Such prying fingers was met with a stinging retort from finfluencer Bitcoin Malaya (@bitcoinmalaya) who chided on X that “Madani is probably the most tax-hungry government Malaysia has ever seen”.

The post has garnered 116.8K views at the time of writing with many commenters aghast at this perceived money-grab.

One affected party innocently asked if testers and samples had to be declared to which the poster answered in the affirmative.

It was also surmised that the Madani government owed its place in Putrajaya to the work of social media influencers. This was thus a slap in the face for those who championed tirelessly for the Madani cause in cyberspace.

One sensible commenter enlightened the ‘aggrieved party’ that such taxes is how the Madani administration is stumping up for the goodies handed out under the SARA initiative.

One wondered how this works with free meals that social media influencers consume when reviewing food outlets highlighting the difficulties of this move.

However, there were many sitting on the other side of the fence who felt if one receives income, one should pay up and that should be no two-ways about it.

A few wondered what made social media influencers so special that they were exempt from the clutches of the taxman.

One sarcastically commented that they should be left to just splurge on luxury goods while ordinary 9-to-5 salaryman and nasi lemak vendors shoulder the tax burden.

It was also pointed out that this was the consequence of past misdeed by previous administrations.

One commenter wryly observed that such taxes were nothing new abroad. Even in neigbouring Singapore, guidelines on this issue have been in effect for some time. Why the need to politicise the matter?

It’s a fair question – what makes social media influencers so special that they can escape the wrath of the taxman.

Go on, stream the song and hum along nicely.

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes … –  Focus Malaysia