KUALA LUMPUR: Two Chinese nationals working in Malaysia were left in shock after discovering each had owed between RM748,000 and RM842,000 in unpaid income tax, allegedly after their employer made false declarations about their salaries to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).
One of the victims named Li Juan, 43, found out about this issue when she wanted to extend her work permit, whereas the other victim, Chen BiLing, 40, married to a Malaysian, found out about this when she was extending her spouse visa.
Both these victims were working under the same employer named Mr Yu, 43, also a Chinese national who owns a mini market located at Kuchai Lama here.
Speaking during a press conference at Wisma MCA, MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said Li was a sales and marketing manager, while Chen was a part-time cashier, and they both faced the same issue from the same employer.
“Li only worked at that store from Nov 1, 2022, until Dec 15, 2023, whereas Chen, worked from October 2022 until June 2023,” he said.
Li said she became aware of the matter when the Immigration Department declined to extend her work permit because she was found to owe LHDN RM842,118.84.
“I never expected to owe so much tax in just one year. I believe that my employer misused a copy of my passport to create a Tax Identification Number and lied about my salary when filing income tax on my behalf, without my permission.
“My monthly salary was RM10,000, but my employer reported it as RM1,759,915.41 from Nov 30, 2022 to Oct 31, 2023,” she said.
“I tried contacting my employer about this, but there has been no response until now,” she said, adding that she had also lodged a police report at the Jinjang police station last Dec 31.
Li said she usually receives her salary via WeChat, a Chinese superapp.
“I found out about this job through an online employment site in China. When I noticed the employer is a Chinese national, I thought I could trust him. And now I can’t even go back to my own country because of this issue,” she said.
Meanwhile, LHDN said Chen owes the board a sum of RM748,073.84.
Chen’s husband later discovered that the employer falsely told LHDN that Chen was receiving cash income from the company.
Chen confronted the employer, who admitted to doing this, but no remedial action had been taken.
“He (Mr Yu) reportedly declared that the workers earned close to RM1mil annually, which is far above their actual (monthly) salaries.
“This could allow the company to report lower profits and reduce its tax liability,” said Chong at the event that was also attended by Malaysia-China Friendship and Mutual Aid Association (MCFAMAA) president James Ee Kah Fuk.
“We advise anyone coming to Malaysia for work to go through proper channels, including obtaining a formal letter of offer and payslips and pay tax,” said MCFAMAA deputy president Datuk Goh Boon Keng.
“These two victims in this case did not receive proper documents, and their employment details were only communicated through social media,” Goh added.
