Micro SMEs burdened by new tax reporting format

I APPRECIATE the government’s various incentives and grants to support small businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which contribute to approximately 39% of Malaysia’s GDP.

However, the recent ruling by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) requiring the mandatory submission of tax documents in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) format starting this year seems to contradict this spirit of support. While digitalisation and standardisation are laudable goals, the cost of compliance with this new format disproportionately affects smaller businesses like mine.