National Tax Conference 2024 (Physical Participant)

INTRODUCTION

Tax Reforms: Driving Growth and Empowering the Nation

COURSE OUTLINE

DAY 1 – 22 JULY 2024, MONDAY

TOPIC 1 – CEO’s session

TOPIC 2 – 2024 Economic Outlook & Government Reform Agenda

TOPIC 3 – Implementation of e-Invoicing in Malaysia & Impact on Businesses

DAY 2 – 23 JULY 2024, TUESDAY

TOPIC 4 – Decoding the Capital Gains Tax (CGT)

TOPIC 5 – Global Minimum Tax Developments & Impact on Tax Incentives

TOPIC 6 – Updates of Tax Cases

TOPIC 7 – Roundtable Discussion on Current Challenges Faced by Taxpayers

PROFILE(s)

Datuk Johan bin Mahmood Merican is the Secretary General of Treasury, Ministry of Finance, appointed in February 2023. He was previously the Deputy Secretary General (Policy) and National Budget Director at the Ministry of Finance. Prior to that, Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican held the position of Deputy Director General (Human Capital) at the Economy Planning Unit and Chief Executive Officer of Talent Corporation Malaysia. He also served 9 years in the private sector in corporate finance and accounting. He currently serves on the Boards of Bintulu Port Holding Berhad, Samalaju Industrial Port Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad, Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja, Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad, Govco Holdings Berhad, MyDIGITAL Corporation, Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd, University Malaya, Malaysia and Chairman of Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia.

Datuk Dr Abu Tariq bin Jamaluddin is presently the Chief Executive Officer of the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia. Prior to his current post, he was the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Compliance), having oversight of the investigation, audit and intelligence arms of the Board. A qualified lawyer and having served the Board for over 27 years, he has extensive advisory, litigation and drafting experience in all aspects of tax laws and has represented the Director General of Inland Revenue before the Special Commissioners of Income Tax and at the superior courts of Malaysia in many landmark cases. Datuk Abu Tariq was instrumental in setting-up the Dispute Resolution Panel, an initiative introduced to expedite tax appeals by taxpayers and was its first Chairman. He is also technically experienced having been involved significantly since 1997 in the drafting of laws to cater to Malaysia’s annual national budget. In pursuit of the Board’s mission and objectives, he advocates a fair, independent and transparent approach to activities under his purview. He is often seen as a speaker and panelist on the national and international taxation conferences’ circuit.

Soh Lian Seng is currently the President of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia and leads the Tax practice at KPMG in Malaysia following his appointment to the firm’s Executive Committee leadership on 1 January 2022. As KPMG’s Head of Tax in Malaysia, he brings over 33 years of professional acumen and capabilities to help clients navigate the most complex business challenges and transformation projects that tax leaders face. Lian Seng pioneered the Malaysian firm’s Tax Dispute Resolution service unit in 1999 and has since built a reputation within the Malaysia tax fraternity for his negotiation and problem-solving expertise in challenging tax audit and investigation cases. Under his leadership, KPMG Tax Services in Malaysia was named the 2019 Tax Dispute & Resolution Firm of the Year by the International Tax Review. In the course of his career, Lian Seng has developed strong and mutually respected ties with various authorities including the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, the Tax Policy Division of the Ministry of Finance, and other government agencies such as the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). He has also contributed to the development of tax laws and regulations in Malaysia. Lian Seng is a licensed tax agent approved by the Ministry of Finance under section 153 of Income Tax Act, 1967. He is certified as a Fellow Member of CTIM, an associate member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, Malaysia (IIAM) and an affiliate member of the Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (MAICSA).

John Patrick Antonysamy currently serves as the Under-Secretary Tax Division at the Ministry of Finance. Previously, he was Deputy Director General II at the Public-Private Partnership Unit under the Prime Minister’s Department. His main roles and functions include chairing the Project Steering Committee to plan, coordinate, evaluate, and negotiate Public Private Partnership projects. He has served in the Government Administrative and Diplomatic Service for the last 28 years in several roles. He served in the Ministry of Finance in the Budget Division as well as the Economics and International Relations Division. His area of work involved Malaysia’s participation in finance-related areas in ASEAN, APEC and ASEM as well as international organisations such as the World Bank, IMF, ADB, and WTO. Besides that, he has also served in the Tax Division and was responsible for FTA negotiations on tax issues, the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement as well as OECD and Multilateral Tax Issues. He was involved in the formulation of tax incentives, examining Services Sector and Petroleum Tax Exemptions as well as representing the Ministry of Finance in the MIDA National Committee on Investments. During his service at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, he was the Senior Director of Strategic Planning Division responsible for planning the Industrial Masterplan. In addition to that, he took on the role of Lead Negotiator for Market Access under the TransPacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) responsible for market access for goods. He has also served as Malaysia’s Chief Negotiator for ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA).

Abdul Muheet Chowdhary is Senior Programme Officer and leads the South Centre Tax Initiative (SCTI) of the South Centre, a Geneva-based intergovernmental policy research think-tank of developing countries. He is a Member of the United Nations Tax Committee’s Subcommittee on Wealth and Solidarity Taxes, a member of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Monitoring Group and is on the Steering Group of the Independent Commission for Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT). Previously, he served in India’s Ministry of External Affairs where he was in the Policy Planning and Research Division specialising in economic strategy. He was formerly a consultant to the United Nations and also worked as a legislative aide in the Parliament of India, specialising in tax and financial law.

Anil Kumar Puri has over 23 years of tax experience and leads the EY International Corporate Tax Advisory and Tax technical teams in Malaysia. He has been involved in numerous cross border advisory projects (both inbound and outbound), particularly in relation to tax and regulatory issues faced by companies investing in Malaysia and abroad. These issues include the impact of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) action plans and the BEPS 2.0 project on holding and transactional structures, regulatory and licensing approvals, withholding taxes, tax incentives, and structuring of operations in a business-focused and tax-efficient manner. Anil has advised clients extensively on capital gains tax matters and has spoken on capital gains tax at various seminars.

Anis Sabirin Binti Jaapar currently serves as the Director of the Tax Certainty And Mutual Agreement Division, Department of International Taxation, Inland Revenue Board Of Malaysia (IRBM). She has been with the IRBM since 1997 contributing her expertise in various Departments and Branches, including the Chief Executive Officer’s Office, International Taxation Department, Taxation Policy Department, Seremban Branch, Duta Branch and Shah Alam Branch. With over 25 years of experience in taxation, she is an expert in providing advisory services and handling diverse views on local and international taxation issues. She holds a Master’s degree in Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology from University Technology MARA (UiTM).

Chow Chee Yen is an Immediate Past President of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia (CTIM) and the Senior Executive Director of Grant Thornton Malaysia. He has more than 30 years of tax experience and was involved in tax engagements concerning cross-border transactions, tax diligence review, restructuring schemes, corporate tax planning, group tax review, inbound investments, and good and services tax (GST). Chee Yen’s expertise is in high demand and he is a prolific trainer/facilitator for tax workshops and seminars organised by professional bodies in Malaysia. In addition, he conducts in-house training for a government ministry, professional firms, and corporations as well as guest speaker for national and international conferences. He is a Fellow Member of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and a Chartered Accountant of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (CA). He is also a graduate of the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) Examinations.

Dato’ Nitin Nadkarni is a Consultant and Head of the Firm’s International Arbitration and Tax, Customs & Trade Practices. His main area of practice is in international arbitration, with a focus on oil & gas, energy, construction, engineering, and infrastructure projects. Dato’ Nitin also handles income tax and customs litigation and disputes. With over 38 years of experience, Dato’ Nitin has represented major governmental organisations, multinational corporations, national and international contractors, sub-contractors, financial institutions, and high-profile individuals in arbitration, litigation, income tax, and customs disputes. Dato’ Nitin has acted as counsel, or sat as an arbitrator, in disputes arising from projects in, or arbitrations seated in, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, London, Switzerland, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Paris, and Algeria under ad hoc and institutional rules. In the first case of its kind in Malaysia, he currently represents the Republic of Zimbabwe before the Malaysian courts, to resist applications by Swiss and German investors to enforce ICSID arbitration awards.

Datuk Hisham Bin Rusli is currently the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Compliance), Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia. He holds a Bachelor of Accounting and Finance from University of Plymouth, United Kingdom and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Open University Malaysia Kuala Lumpur. Datuk Hisham brings with him over two decades of experience in the taxation field. He started his career in 1998 as tax assessment officer. Over the years, he has ascended through the ranks, holding the positions of Director of the Keningau (Sabah) Branch, Director of the Melaka Branch and Director of the Multinational Tax Branch. He also served as the Head of the Tax Operations Department before being promoted to Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Management). Datuk Hisham’s leadership and vision have earned him recognition in his field. With vast knowledge in the operations and administration of direct taxes in Malaysia, he has negotiated high-level bilateral meetings with foreign tax administrations as well as multinational taxpayers. His expertise is not only limited to tax operations but also extends to policy development, as evidenced by his role as one of the Technical Committee members in the development of the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia’s (IRBM) Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) in the past.

Datuk Koong Lin Loong has been actively involved in various commerce and community services. He is currently the Treasurer of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM), Chairman of ACCCIM SMEs Committee and Taxation Taskforce and ACCCIM Representative to SST Technical Committee, Royal Malaysia Customs. In addition, Datuk Koong is regular speaker, moderator and commentator of Tax, GST and SMEs forums and roundtable discussions by Professional and Trade Associations. Datuk Koong Lin Loong is a former Council Member of CTIM.

Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift is the Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia Bhd. He is also the director of all subsidiary companies within Bursa Malaysia Group, and serves as Chairman of Bursa Malaysia Derivatives and Clearing. Datuk Umar has more than 25 years of experience in the areas of banking and financial services. He was also the CEO of Gas Malaysia and Head of the Enterprise Financial Services Group of Maybank. Prior to helming the Exchange, he was the Chief Executive Officer / Group Managing Director of MAA Group Bhd, where he also assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Malaysian Assurance Alliance Bhd (now known as Zurich Insurance Malaysia Bhd). Datuk Umar sits on the Board of the Securities Industry Development Corporation and is an appointed member of ‘Anugerah Kecemerlangan Industri’. He is also a member of the Financial Reporting Foundation and a Board member of the Capital Market Development Fund, both appointed by the Ministry of Finance. Datuk Umar holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from Monash University, Australia, and is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a member of CPA Australia, a Chartered Tax Adviser of The Tax Institute of Australia, and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) in Australia. He is also a Chartered Accountant with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and a Registered Financial Planner.

Dr. Anthony Dass started his career as an Economist and then as a Senior Economist at Bank Negara Malaysia between 1988 and 1997. He worked in various equity investment organisations. Most recently, he was the Chief Economist/Head of Research at AmBank from 2013 to 2023. He also served as a Special Officer, at the Economic Action Council, Economic Planning Unit, Malaysia (May 2020 – 31 January 2023). He focused on strategic issues and policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to various economic and social policies, industries, and businesses. He worked extensively with various Ministries, Agencies, and Associations on the reforms and structural issues. He assisted the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia between 2011 – 2013. Dass was seconded to the Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC), Securities Commission. In 2008, Dass was selected under the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations to carry out a feasible study for the government of the United Arab Emirates to set up the “Data Dissemination System” in 2002. He has a PhD in Economics from the University Utara Malaysia (2018), a Master in Economics & Finance University of Bristol, UK (1996), and the first batch to graduate from the International Islamic University Malaysia with a Bachelor of Economics (1997) The Board of Trustees is pleased to have Dass to lead MIER now where important and new strategies are vital for our economy to forge ahead to become a high-income high growth nation.

Farah binti Rosley is the Malaysia Tax Leader of Ernst & Young Tax Consultants Sdn Bhd and has more than 20 years of experience handling tax consulting and advisory including tax structuring, tax reviews, incentives, tax audits and investigations and transfer pricing assignments, covering a range of industry sectors. She is a frequent speaker at National and International conferences. Farah has worked closely with government authorities and agencies on various taxation matters for local and multinational corporations. She also has had engagements at government consultation meetings and has been invited to attend task force on tax policy matters. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Hull, UK, a Fellow of ACCA, and a Chartered Accountant of MIA. Farah is the Immediate Past President and Fellow Member of CTIM.

Leow Mui Lee is a Council Member of CTIM as well as a member of CPA Australia and the MIA. Mui Lee has over 30 years of tax experience with leading international accounting as well as professional services firms in Malaysia. She specialises in transfer pricing, tax dispute resolution, tax due diligence reviews as well as corporate tax advisory services. She has serviced a broad spectrum of clients including large multinational corporations and public listed companies.

Mahadhir bin Aziz is currently a Chief Executive Officer at Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and has more than 20 years of professional experience which includes 10 years of senior / top management experience, and 15 years of strategic consulting / advisory role spanning multiple industries and established global organizations including Deloitte Consulting, PETRONAS, Am Investment Bank and Kodak. He currently chairs a number of strategic committees focusing on the development of Malaysia’s future and regulations including the National Regulatory Sandbox (NRS) Advisory Panel and Cyberjaya City Innovation Council. He is also a member of various committees such as the United Nations Technology Innovation Labs Advisory Panel and the Malaysian Industry4WRD Regulatory Panel at MITI. Mahadhir currently is attached to the Office of Minister of Finance, Malaysia as a Project Manager, having assisted the Head of Laksana throughout the establishment of the unit and agency since its inception in March 2020.

Masni binti Muhammad joined MIDA in August 1998 as Assistant Director and currently serves as Executive Director of Investment Policy Advocacy (Manufacturing). Masni has worked across multiple Divisions in MIDA which include the Petrochemical Industry Division, Chemical Advanced and Material, Oil & Gas and Maritime Technology, and Strategic Planning & Policy Advocacy (Manufacturing). Masni has extensive knowledge in the manufacturing industry and vast experience in evaluating high-quality projects. Throughout her career of more than 22 years, MIDA has provided her the opportunity to be part of the country’s industrial development, including recommending policies for related industries to the Government/stakeholders. Masni holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Hons) from the University of Malaya.

Muhammad Farid bin Jaafar with more than 20 years of experience working for the legal department, Muhammad Farid Jaafar is currently the Director of the Special Appeal Division under the IRBM Legal Department. He graduated from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia with a Bachelor of Laws. In the appellate courts, he supervises and manages judicial review and tax appeal cases. He was formerly attached to the Dispute Resolution Department, where he participated in the tax dispute settlement procedures, and he also served as a member of the IRBM working committee for the tax law bill.

Professor Dr. Yeah Kim Leng is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Economic Studies Programme at the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia at Sunway University. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry and a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics. His research interests span development economics, monetary economics, capital markets and industry studies. These topics reflect his previous experiences as an economic analyst at a national policy think-tank, a chief economist at a credit rating agency and a lead consultant at an economics consultancy services subsidiary. His current project at the Jeffrey Cheah Institute focuses on tax systems and structures and their effects on fiscal sustainability, economic growth and income inequality. He is currently the Deputy President of Malaysian Economic Association (MEA) and a former external member of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee.

Rihanna Haryanti binti Mohd Ramli Being the Chief Tax Officer for PETRONAS Group of Companies, and a member of PETRONAS’ Finance Leadership Team, Rihanna has constantly championed the tax strategy formulation and implementation by leading the provision of commercially focused tax advice, and effective tax strategy & structure for PETRONAS Group of Companies to ensure PETRONAS businesses operates in full compliance with tax laws and regulations. Rihanna joined PETRONAS in 2009 after gaining 10 years of experience in the taxation arena during multiple stints in various multinational companies such as ExxonMobil, Anderson, Ernst & Young and Boustead Group. Rihanna was also one of the pioneers in the introduction and implementation of Petroleum Tax Incentives, where she partnered with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Inland Revenue Board (IRB) of Malaysia. Rihanna graduated with a Bachelor of Accounting (Hons) from Universiti Tenaga Nasional and holds a Master of Business Administration, from Charles Sturt University, Australia.‑ Rihanna is also a member of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia (CTIM).

Shaharrudy bin Othman currently serves as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Tax Operations. He holds a Master of Management from the International Islamic University of Malaysia. Shaharrudy Othman joined IRBM in 1999 and has served in various areas of tax administration, including stints in audit, investigation, tax policy, international taxation, and management of branch and state offices.

Steve Chia is a Council Member of CTIM and a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (UK). He has over 22 years of experience within the tax practice and has undertaken high-value tax and business consulting projects for local conglomerates as well as multinational clients in various industries including property, infrastructure, logistics, manufacturing, trading, construction, as well as education. He has conducted client workshops and seminars on taxation matters as well is currently, a tax examiner for a leading UK professional body. Steve is a Tax Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Taxation Services Sdn. Bhd.

Tan Hooi Beng is the Deputy Tax Leader of Deloitte Malaysia. He is also the International Tax Leader for Malaysia and Southeast Asia. He has more than 22 years of experience in corporate and international tax. He has vast experience in advising multinational corporations on corporate structuring and restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, international offshore financial centers, business model optimization, tax treaties, and cross-border taxation generally. In recent years, he has been very much involved in BEPS 1.0 and BEPS 2.0 related projects. He serves local and multi-national corporations in telecommunication products and services, software and hardware solutions, health and medical, manufacturing, real estate, oil and gas, hotel, retail and information technology industry, etc. Hooi Beng is a council member of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia, a Chartered Accountant of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, a member of The Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as a licensed tax agent under the Malaysian Income Tax Act, 1967. He holds a Bachelor of Accounting from the University of Malaya. Hooi Beng has been listed in the current edition of “The World’s Leading Tax Advisers” (Euromoney).

Thenesh Kannaa is an Executive Director at TRATAX Sdn Bhd (a member firm of WTS Global). He leads the international tax and indirect tax practice lines. At CTIM, he chairs the Technical Committee on Tax Policy and co-chairs the Joint Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Working Group established among professional bodies to provide constructive inputs to the Government on CGT implementation aspects. Thenesh has authored three (3) books on Malaysian taxation, two (2) chapter-in-books for international tax publications of IFA and IBFD respectively. Thenesh is also member of ACCA’s expert panel on taxation and a member of IFA Malaysia’s exco. He has made technical and tax policy related presentations in over 100 tax conferences held in Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore and Taiwan. His area of experience includes cross-border M&A transactions, tax incentive and international trade, and he has successfully represented various multinationals in applications with MOF, IRBM, RMCD and MIDA.

Vijey M Krishnan has more than 25 years of experience in tax matters. He joined Raja, Darryl & Loh in 1999 and heads the revenue law practice group there. Vijey regularly appears before the Special Commissioners of Income Tax, the Customs Appeal Tribunal, the High Court, and the Court of Appeal on major points of tax law. Vijey has consistently been recommended in the area of Tax in publications such as The Asia Pacific Legal 500, the Tax Directors Handbook, and Chambers Asia Pacific. He is listed as a Leading Individual in the area of Tax in Chambers Asia Pacific and as a Leading Lawyer in Asialaw Profiles. He has also been listed as a Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation and the Asia Business Law Journal lists Vijey as one of the top 100 lawyers practicing in Malaysia.