PUTRAJAYA: Toh Puan Nai’mah Abdul Khalid, wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, has been granted a temporary stay by the Court of Appeal to delay the payment of RM313.82mil in income tax arrears to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) pending the disposal of her appeal.
A three-judge panel, consisting of Justices Supang Lian, Hashim Hamzah, and Dr Choo Kah Sing, unanimously allowed Nai’mah’s application for an ad interim (temporary) stay until her appeal against a High Court decision is resolved.
Delivering the court’s decision on Monday (Oct 28), Court of Appeal Judge Dr Choo stated that Nai’mah’s application was meritorious.
Last month, the Shah Alam High Court refused to grant Nai’mah an interim stay of an order compelling her to pay the RM313.82mil in additional tax.
The hearing of her appeal at the Court of Appeal has yet to be scheduled.
She sought the interim stay pending the outcome of her application for leave to commence a judicial review challenging the LHDN’s additional tax assessments for the year 2018.
Nai’mah filed her application on Aug 13, this year, aiming to quash the LHDN’s demand for RM313.82mil in tax arrears.
In her supporting affidavit, Nai’mah claimed that the tax assessment against her was based on unsubstantiated allegations of over RM700mil in undeclared income for 2018, which she described as baseless.
She also alleged that the LHDN had failed to refund RM3.807bil in taxes owed to her from 2017 and prior.
During the proceedings, her lawyer, S. Saravana Kumar, argued that while Nai’mah was willing to pay her taxes, she was unable to do so as her accounts were frozen by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
He also mentioned that if a stay is not granted, the LHDN may take civil action against her to recover the money, potentially subjecting her to bankruptcy proceedings.
Senior federal counsel from LHDN, Mohamad Hafidz Ahmad, countered that no special circumstances justified granting an interim stay to Nai’mah.
When Judge Hashim asked how the government expects Nai’mah to pay the RM313.8mil when her accounts were frozen, Hafidz responded that taxpayers like Nai’mah would have to find ways to settle the sum.
The High Court has fixed Feb 12, 2025, for hearing Nai’mah’s leave application to commence a judicial review. – Bernama
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