Impacts of the Self-Assessment System for Corporate Taxpayers

The adoption of Self-Assessment System (SAS) results in a considerable shift of responsibility upon taxpayers with regards to their compliance obligations. Additional compliance responsibilities for taxpayers include an obligation to report, compute and pay their taxes according to tax laws. In discharging these obligations, taxpayers must understand the tax laws, compute and pay the correct amount of tax liability, as well as keeping appropriate records. In addition, as the IRB officials are relinquished from the tasks of assessment and review of tax returns filed under SAS, their emphasis has shifted to enforcement activities, mainly to tax audits and investigations. Greater tax compliance obligations under SAS environment, with higher possibility of audit may require taxpayers to seek assistance from external tax professionals to handle tax matters on their behalf. This study examines the impacts of self-assessment system on corporate taxpayers in Malaysia in terms of their compliance requirements. Among the impacts on taxpayer’s compliance burden resulting from the introduction of SAS, include: (i) obtaining appropriate knowledge, (ii) engaging external tax professionals, (iii) tax audit and investigation and (iv) record keeping practices.