The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) announced in April 2022 that Malaysia’s Tax Corporate Governance Framework (TCGF) pilot program would start in June 2022. It is a momentous step forward by the IRB to encourage an open discussion approach and foster transparency between taxpayer and tax authority, a departure from the traditional audit-oriented approach to compliance. The program is voluntary, and it is understood that companies listed on Bursa Malaysia, Government Linked Companies and companies with an annual turnover of more than RM100 million are eligible to volunteer if they are keen.
To undertake this exercise, companies must first develop an internal framework and ensure it is operationally effective. This framework principally should address the chain of command in relation to tax decision making, tax strategy and risk management, operating procedures for tax compliance, internal controls and data integrity. With a solid and practical TCGF, the taxpayer gives the tax authority a greater sense of trust that tax compliance within the organisation is well managed and the risk of non-compliance is low. In turn, this leads to fewer audit activities by the authorities, and both parties can focus on resolving issues preemptively rather than prospectively.
This one-hour session is intended to give boards a quick overview of the latest initiative of IRB and the building blocks of a formidable TCGF from a risk management and stakeholder engagement perspective. It also offers a critical action plan that boards can take away with their management.
Speaker
MARK CHAN
Financial Services Industry Tax Leader and Tax Governance Leader
Deloitte,Malaysia
Mark brings with him over 20 years of experience in the public accounting practice and commercial sector in Corporate Tax and GST experience. As Deloitte Malaysia’s FSI Tax Leader, he is the primary tax partner leading tax engagements for clients in the sectors of banking, insurance and capital markets. He is experienced in corporate income tax compliance, dispute resolution, tax advisory, tax due diligence and tax structuring. He is also Deloitte Malaysia’s lead partner appointed to spearhead the firm’s initiatives relating to the newly announced Tax Corporate Governance Framework and is actively involved in discussions with the IRB in relation to the implementation and execution of this initiative in Malaysia.
Mark’s career path and experience is what differentiates him from his peers as he is not a career consultant. After 9 years in a Big 4 firm, Mark joined a Malaysian financial services group as VP of Group Tax overseeing tax projects and tax management for the group’s diverse business. In this role he led the implementation of GST for the Group, operationalisation of transfer pricing policies and established the Groups tax governance and risk framework and procedures. After 4 years in that role Mark would later join a Malaysian headquartered conglomerate as Senior Tax Manager. His role would require him to lead tax advisory projects and manage the tax initiatives of the Group both within and outside Malaysia.
Mark would later join Deloitte in 2017 as a Director and was admitted as a Partner in 2019 to lead the Financial Services Industry tax practice in Malaysia. He is also a Chartered Accountant with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.
