PUTRAJAYA (Sept 21): The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) is expecting Budget 2023 to focus more on helping businesses and individual taxpayers, given that the country is in the midst of an economic recovery.

Chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nizom Sairi said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz is expected to announce new measures in the form of initiatives or tax exemptions befitting the current economic situation as well as taxpayers’ needs.

“Right now, the Government also needs more tax revenue, so that it can spend for the benefit of the people, so there has to be a balance between tax exemptions and having enough funds for the nation’s development programmes,” he said.

Speaking to the media after the Malaysian Tax Academy’s (MTA) convocation ceremony here on Wednesday (Sept 21), Mohd Nizom said the IRB is confident that it will be able to achieve its direct tax collection target of more than RM139.3 billion this year as outlined in Budget 2022, given the encouraging post-pandemic economic growth.

“We are on track to achieve the 2022 target in the final quarter of the year. Based on the current performance in terms of business and individual tax contributions, the country is on the right track for recovery," he said.

Meanwhile, commenting on the convocation ceremony, Mohd Nizom said 362 graduates had successfully completed their studies in the fields of professional taxation and forensic accounting, among others.

He said the MTA is a training institution for the IRB in its pursuit to produce knowledgeable, competent and quality human capital for the sustainability of taxation services.

He noted that the MTA had established a committee to develop a higher learning module, namely the Master of Professional Taxation Programme, as an initiative to continue cultivating taxation knowledge and provide quality human capital in line with the standards of international tax administrators.

Aside from providing training to its officers, Mohd Nizom said the IRB had also sent its officers abroad to attend courses to strengthen their investigative and auditing skills since businesses are expanding to the global level, while taking preventive measures by raising awareness and providing services to facilitate taxpayers.