Investors must undergo stringent vetting first, says Amir Hamzah
KUALA LUMPUR: Tax exemptions for investors are only granted after strict vetting which is meant to keep Malaysia competitive in attracting new investments.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, who disclosed this, said the government offers tax breaks for certain periods as part of its investment promotion strategy, but they are never automatic and not always given in full.
“To bring investments into the country, we allow tax exemptions for specific periods. Sometimes these are not given in full... only a portion.
“This is important because we are competing with many other countries for the same investors.
“From the ministry’s perspective, approvals are never done arbitrarily. They must go through a proper process,” he told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Amir Hamzah said any major investment proposal seeking tax incentives must first be evaluated by the National Investment Committee.
“When an investor wants to come in and requests incentives, the application has to go through the committee.
“We look at whether the investment is strategic, review existing tax policies and assess whether incentives are needed to bring the investment in,” he pointed out.
This structured approach, he added, would guide the government’s incentive framework, which is reviewed regularly to ensure it remains relevant.
“This is the principle we follow. Studies are carried out every year and for the sake of improvement, we will continue reviewing the policies.
“If there are better ways or enhancements that can be introduced, I am open to considering them,” he said in reply to Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who had suggested that foreign tech giants could escape paying taxes by making large political donations.
Saying that the Finance Ministry held broad powers that enabled it to grant tax exemptions, Syed Saddiq wanted to know which companies and individuals had received major tax waivers over the years and the total value of tax liabilities written off.
