Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak said reintroducing inheritance tax would likely impact widows and families the most.

He said even with a high threshold, rising house prices over the past 30 years may render middle-income families (M40) liable to pay the tax.

“This could force families to sell their only inherited house, leading to disintegration.

“It is also a difficult tax to administer. We need to simulate and use real data to anticipate (its effect) before putting it into practice,” Barjoyai told FMT.

Nazari Ismail of Universiti Malaya said the proposed inheritance tax is unfair as it taxes those who have inherited wealth, usually from their parents.

He said an inheritance tax would create an additional burden.

“We must change the system to solve the cost of living problem. It cannot be solved by reintroducing inheritance tax,” Nazari told FMT.

Former Melaka Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association chairman Anthony Cho said inheritance tax would be a problem because property, jewellery and shares are not easy to liquidate.

Cho said Malaysia is not a developed country, so people are struggling with their livelihoods.

“The majority of Malaysians don’t even pay taxes and do not have much cash,” Cho told FMT.

“The property market is struggling because of economic uncertainty. Imposing an inheritance tax could deter buyers and discourage parents from investing in property due to increased instability,” he said.

On Oct 18, Amanah’s Dzulkefly Ahmad called for inheritance tax to be reintroduced, saying the government could earn significantly from the levy.

The Kuala Selangor MP said such a taxation system has been implemented in developed countries. He cited South Korea as an example, where the heirs of the Samsung business empire paid US$6 billion from the wealth inherited from their late father.

Inheritance tax was imposed under the Estate Duty Enactment 1941, but was repealed in November 1991 by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.