How do you feel when filling up this form?

By Kongster

I CELEBRATED Labour Day earlier this week by working on my income tax return form. Filling up the Borang BE was quite easy but the hardest part was trying to make the federal government owe me some money and getting a refund.

Though I didn't fill up the form with a pen and didn't go to the post office, I was still able to rest easy on Labour Day... thanks to e-filing.

So, despite the last day of April having expired, there was no way the IRB could hit me with a 20 to 35 per cent fine on the total tax payable. With e-filing, the taxman should collect less money in fines unless hardcore procrastinators are many among the taxpayers.

But admittedly, with the May 15 deadline looming, things got a bit worrying when I started doing my tax return online.

You see, I forgot my e-filing pin code and password. Don't laugh. I'm not the only one... you fellows out there, put up your hands.

It must be that selective memory loss syndrome. While nobody forgets their ATM pin numbers, remembering your e-filing password can be really taxing on the memory. The reason is obvious...

Anyway, after hitting the "Terlupa Kata Laluan" (Forgot Your Password) button, a labour that took me a few tries and made me wish for the good old tax form again, I managed to get into e.hasil.gov.my.

Here, I must admit that the most welcome part of Borang BE must be the "Bahagian D Pelepasan" (tax relief) section.

Though feeling a little guilty for trying to pay the taxman as little as possible by maximising the deductions and rebates to the limits allowed, I told myself there's nothing wrong with not wanting to give away too much to the country. After all, big businesses pay accountants big money to pay less to the taxman.

After doing the pluses and minuses, and adding in all the tax reliefs, I was relieved that I didn't owe the IRB. A fair assessment but yet no excess tax payments.

Dr Laurence Johnston Peter (1919-1990), famous for his Peter Principle (the belief that people are promoted to jobs with duties they cannot fulfil, thus rising to their level of incompetence), says: "Few of us ever test our powers of deduction, except when filling out an income tax form.''

When filling up Borang BE, it did make me feel good that my money would be put to good use. Ah, I am not without noble intentions though I do not intend to pay a sen more or a sen less.

Anyway, dutiful citizen that I am, I would be proud to tell people that I paid for a brick in this hospital or that school, or that I have a ringgit in BR1M money for the needy.

Last year, I couldn't make the IRB owe me money despite all that PCB deductions which went to meeting the federal government's aim of collecting RM21.347 billion in personal taxes for 2012. The taxman must have got it all figured out.

Lastly, I wish my fellow taxpayers many happy returns on the refunds.

How do you feel when filling up this form?

I CELEBRATED Labour Day earlier this week by working on my income tax return form. Filling up the Borang BE was quite easy but the hardest part was trying to make the federal government owe me some money and getting a refund.

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