In what was widely deemed as a harsh ruling, the IRB has now reversed it’s decision to backdate the ruling that private medical specialists have to declare income as individuals rather than SDN BHD. The ruling will apply from 2017 onwards and will not be backdated to 2013 as previously instructed.
This decision seems more fair as for several decades now, many doctors in private practice had used a SDN BHD as a vehicle to declare income, a practice well known to the IRB and indeed thought by doctors, advised by accountants, to be fine until there was a ruling by the IRB in 2016 that doctors could only declare income as an individuals.
This was fine with the doctors but it was considered by most in the profession that to backdate the ruling to 2013 and apply penalties was unduly harsh and unjust.
Now this decision to apply the ruling from 2017 onwards is welcome news indeed.
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