According to a New Straits Times report, IRB has been working on the plan since July and the proposal has been submitted to Bank Negara Malaysia for approval.

A source told the daily that IRB had formed a dedicated team in its legal department and the team had been liaising with Bank Negara since they embarked on the plan four months ago.

“Bank Negara has asked IRB to provide a comprehensive proposal, specifically on the mechanism to identify tax evaders, before the central bank could give its green light,” the source was quoted as saying.

IRB chief executive officer Sabin Samitah, who confirmed the proposal, said there were a few things that needed to be discussed before a decision could be made.

He said the board had to take into account many things, including public interest, as the people might face difficulties in applying for loans if their names were included in CCRIS.

“At the moment, the tax arrears are manageable,” he told the NST.

Sabin said the board was also planning to hold employers responsible and make them pay if they failed to deduct their employees’ taxes accurately, especially from foreign workers.

“We will make sure that employers carry out their responsibilities in deducting and declaring their workers’ taxes accurately to the board,” he was quoted as saying.

He said the board had found that some employers, especially those who hire foreign workers and expatriates, had failed to deduct taxes from their workers’ salary before they returned to their home countries.

Sabin said in such cases, the board would claim the tax from the employers or those who sponsored the foreign workers.