SHAH ALAM (Oct 18): The High Court here has denied Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, the wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, an interim stay against an order by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) for the imposition of RM313.82 million in additional tax assessment for the year 2018.

Na’imah was seeking an interim stay, pending a judicial review application to quash the IRB order dated Aug 13, deeming it as ultra vires, illegal, void, unlawful and in excess of authority, irrational and unreasonable.

Judge Shanaz Sulaiman had denied Na’imah’s application, surmising that under the Income Tax Act (ITA), any payment of tax should be made, regardless of the amount (excessive or otherwise) or if legal proceedings have been instituted.

Addressing Na’imah’s lawyers’ previous argument that the sum is a large sum to raise, the judge said that it still had to be paid, and that their argument was untenable.

“On the issue of the enormous sum of tax that is due, this court is of the considered view that what amounts to a large sum is relative. To the man on the street, a tax assessment of RM30,000 may be massive. Yet, as provided for under the ITA 1967, the man on the street is still required to make payment of this amount. The law applies equally to all,” she said

“Whether the tax assessment is RM30,000 or RM30 million, the law should and must be applied alike,” she stated in her judgment on Friday.

She, however, said that any tax paid can be refunded by the IRB.

She then dismissed the application, saying that there was “no exceptional circumstances” to allow for the interim stay.

When contacted by The Edge, Na’imah’s lawyer Saravana Kumar confirmed that they would be appealing the decision at the court of appeal and that they would file the notice of appeal soon.

Na’imah has been accused by the IRB for unreported income from three units of assets worth RM700.572 million. The said assets are Nantasket Beach Resort Hotel in Hull, Massachusetts; Chauncy Place in Boston, Massachusetts; and Hotel Buckminster and Annex in Boston, Massachusetts.

She claimed that the three foreign assets were purchased by her and Daim more than 30 years ago, whereas the ITA only requires taxpayers to retain documents up to seven years.

In her affidavit in support of the judicial review, Na’imah cited Section 3 of the ITA, which stipulates that income tax shall be charged for each year of assessment upon the income accruing in or derived from Malaysia or received in Malaysia from outside Malaysia, to support her argument that taxes operate on a territorial basis.

Na’imah further claimed that the issue of the increase in share capital (raised in January this year) had already been brought up previously, and Daim had entered a settlement with the IRB, making the IRB's decision to revisit it irrational and unreasonable.

She further alleged that she is a target of collusion between the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the IRB to cause her to face difficulties and to tarnish her reputation.

She further claimed that she had always acted in good faith, and had given full cooperation and made full and frank disclosures in managing her finance and tax affairs.

Prior to this, Na’imah was charged in January with not abiding by the MACC's notice to declare 12 of her purported assets to the anti-graft body. Among them are a Mercedes-Benz EQC400 and 500 SL AUTO series, seven properties in Kuala Lumpur and one in Penang, and Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd.

Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd is the owner of Ilham Tower in the Kuala Lumpur city centre, and the company’s majority shares are owned by Ilham Baru, which is in turn fully-owned by Daim’s wife and two children.

The single charge was framed under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act and carries a punishment of a maximum of five years’ imprisonment and a fine not exceeding RM100,000.