Pay RM1.69b back taxes first, IRB tells Najib pending appeal

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak must pay the RM1,692,872,924.83 owed in income taxes from 2011 to 2017 pending his reassessment appeal to the Internal Revenue Board (IRB), the government said in a court filing this month.

News portal Malaysakini reported the IRB filing an affidavit for a summary judgment in the High Court here on August 8 on behalf of the Government of Malaysia. Najib was named as defendant in the document.

The filing signed by IRB monitoring unit assistant director Hisyamuddin Mohd Hassan said the requirement on Najib is made under Section 103 of the Income Tax Act 1967.

“I therefore reiterate that under Section 103 of the Act, a tax assessed on somebody is due on its due date and has to be paid when the assessment notices were served, regardless of whether the person is appealing against the assessment or not.

“Furthermore, I have been advised and believe that the defendant has no defence with merit in this claim, and that the plaintiff has the right to obtain the relief sought,” Hisyamuddin reportedly said in the affidavit.

According to the report, Najib was given ample time to pay income taxes within the 30-day period after assessment notices were issued but failed to do so, resulting in the charge of an additional 10 per cent.

The Pekan MP was then given 60 days to pay up the taxes together with the additional 10 per cent charge, but still failed to do so.

As a result, Najib was slapped with another 5 per cent increase on the 10 per cent hike, bringing the total amount of income tax due to RM1,692,872,924.83.

The final amount owed each year is as follows:

2011: RM134,180,247.10

2012: RM370,674,071.81

2013: RM1,029,767,352.60

2014: RM137,612,077.11

2015: RM19,495,822.53

2016: RM743,179.21

2017: RM400,174.47

According to the report, the government is also asking for an annual interest of 5 per cent on the sum from the date of judgment until the date of realisation, cost, and other reliefs deemed fit by the court.

Najib reportedly filed to stay court proceedings on his taxable income on August 8 pending a reassessment appeal with the IRB.

According to reports, he claimed a majority source of the RM1.69 billion was from donations.

Najib is currently on trial at the High Court for seven money laundering and criminal breach of trust charges over RM42 million in SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MBD).

He exhausted today his legal options to defer his main 1MDB corruption trial until after his ongoing SRC International case.

The High Court previously set August 19 to 29, the entirety of September and October except for Fridays, and the first two weeks of November to hear Najib’s 1MDB trial pending conclusion of his ongoing SRC International corruption trial.

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