CYBERJAYA, April 6 — The country can get RM1 billion for a start when the global minimum tax (GMT) is introduced, said Deputy Finance Minister 1 Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

He said the related bill is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat this year.

He told reporters after attending the Inland Revenue Board’s (IRB) Majlis Iftar dan Penyerahan Sumbangan here today that the papers related to the bill are being prepared by the Tax Division of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in collaboration with the Attorney General’s Department.

Asked about the response from multinational corporations (MNCs) based in the country regarding the implementation of GMT, Ahmad Maslan said they will have to comply with international standards because the tax issue has been discussed for the past two years.

"The (GMT) really needs to be implemented and can be a new source of tax revenue for the country, maybe after it is introduced, we can get RM1 billion for a start,” he said.

Malaysia has basically agreed to implement a GMT of 15 per cent on some MNCs and Malaysia is among the 136 countries announced by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) previously as countries that are ready to reform the international taxation system.

The implementation of the tax system is to ensure that business entities pay taxes fairly in the host country and avoid tax leakage.

Regarding the IRB’s voluntary declaration programme as a strategy to expand tax revenue, Ahmad Maslan said it will be implemented on June 1 this year and ends on May 31, 2024.

"This programme is expected to involve as many as 50,000 taxpayers with an estimated tax collection of RM1 billion,” he said.

He said taxpayers who are eligible are advised to go to the IRB office when the programme is implemented before the IRB conducts audit and investigation, which are the IRB’s normal procedures, on them. — Bernama