Manufacturing (including Agro-based).........

1. The financiaI year end of your company

in 2006 was:
Day Month
2. The main business activity of your company is:
(Please tick one box)
Manufacturing-related Services.....................
Services (including nformation and
Communication Technology) .........................
Construction ................
Other, please state
3. The period your company has been in business is:
(Please tick one box)
Less than 2 years 2 to 5 years More than 5 years
4. The average number of staff (fuII time) empIoyed by your
company in 2006 was: (Please tick one box)
5. The paid up capitaI of your company at the beginning of
financiaI year 2006 was:(Please tick one box)
RM500,000 or less ..........................
RM500,001 to RM2,500,000 ................
RM2,500,001 or more ..............................
6. The turnover of your company in financiaI
year 2006 was:
(Please tick one box)
Less than RM250,000 ..........................
RM250,000 to RM999,999 .....................
RM1,000,000 to RM4,999,999 ........................
RM5,000,000 to RM9,999,999 ......................
RM25,000,000 or more ......................
RM10,000,000 to RM24,999,999 ....................
SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION
Please tick one box or fill in the appropriate details
as requested.
7. The estimated tax liability of your company for the
year of assessment 2006 was:
(Please tick one box)
Nil (no tax liability) ....................
RM1 to RM99,999 ............................
RM100,000 to RM249,999 .......................
RM250,000 to RM499,999 .......................
RM500,000 to RM999,999 .......................
RM1,000,000 or more .......................
8. Since the company is paying income tax by advance
monthly instalments, would your company expect a
tax refund for the year of assessment 2006?
If 'YES', please estimate the possible amount of tax
refund.

RM

SECTION B: TAX COMPLIANCE COSTS
Internal Costs
Kindly Iill in an approximate estimate oI time, monetary
amounts and/or breakdown oI the Iollowing internal costs
oI complying with corporate income tax:
9. Please ESTIMATE the time spent and monthly wage
rates by these people working exclusively on Income Tax
activities (exclude usual book keeping and overhead costs)
within the company in 2006.
Managers/accountants
Accounting staII
Administrative staII
Other staII
Average Wage Rate
Total Hours
10. Does your company incur any other additional non-staff
costs (e.g. stationery, postage, travelling, etc.) in meeting
the income tax requirements for the year of assessment
2006?
II 'NO', continue to question 11.
II 'YES', please respond to the Iollowing question:
Briefly describe the nature of the costs.
Please estimate the additional costs involved in 2006.
Note:
All questions relate to the Iinancial year and/or year oI assessment 2006 (or substituted year).
All responses will be kept strictly conIidential and anonymous.
Survey of the Tax Compliance Burden
of Small and Medium-Sized Companies in Malaysia
Page 1
4 or less 5 to 19 20 to 50 51 to 150 151 or more
RM per month
RM per month
RM per month
RM per month
per month
per month
per month
per month
RM
YES NO
YES NO
11. Of all the time spent and costs incurred internally in
complying with corporate income tax laws for 2006,
state approximately how much (in percentage) was
related to the following work:
Routine Income Tax Return work (Ior annual return)
Income Tax Planning work (longer term)
Other (please state)
Total

Breakdown
100 %
12. In which of the following areas is your company
facing difficulties?
(Please tick more than one box iI appropriate)
External Costs
Kindly please tick one box or provide an appropriate
response to the Iollowing questions related to external
costs oI complying with corporate income tax:
13. Does your company employ external tax professionals
(such as accountant and/or tax agent) to handle
income tax matters in 2006?
YES NO

II 'NO', please go to Section C (Question 14).
II 'YES', please continue.
The main reason for the external advice was:
(Please tick more than one box iI appropriate)
Please PROVIDE or ESTIMATE the external TAX FEES
for the corporate income tax activities in the financial year 2006.

RM

Please ESTIMATE the percentage breakdown between routine
income tax preparation and income tax planning work conducted
by the external tax professionals.
SECTION C: PERCEPTIONS AND OPINIONS
14. Kindly respond to the following statements to indicate your
opinion (by way of a tick on a 5 point scale) to each of the
statements. There are no right or wrong answers. All
responses are absolutely anonymous. Tick one box for
each statement.
%
Strongly
Agree
5
Agree
4
Neutral
3
Disagree
2
Strongly
Disagree
1
Personally I consider
corporate income tax
return preparations
diIIicult.
Corporate income tax
law is relatively
simple.
Complexity in the tax
law is necessary so
that companies are
treated Iairly.
Corporate income tax
is so complicated that
only people who can
aIIord to pay tax
proIessionals can
take advantage oI
most legal ways to
save much in taxes.
A'Iair' tax rate
should be the same
Ior every company,
regardless oI their
size (small, medium
or large).
Large companies
have a greater ability
to pay income tax, so
it is Iair that they
should pay a higher
rate oI tax than small
and medium
It is Iair that high-
proIit companies
should pay a higher
rate oI tax than low-
proIit companies.
Page 2

%

%

%
Routine Income Tax Return work (Ior annual return)
Income Tax Planning work (longer term)
Other (please state)
Total

%
%
100 %
Approximate
Breakdown
Technical knowledge is not readily available internally ..............
Income tax matters are too complicated .......................................
External opinion was required ......................................................
It is more cost-eIIective to use external tax proIessionals ............
For income tax planning ...............................................................
Others (Please state)
Estimating income tax payable ................................................
Understanding income tax legislation ......................................
Implementing the income tax changes .....................................
Maintaining records Ior income tax purpose ............................
Increasing burden oI record keeping Ior tax purpose ...............
Cash Ilow position when paying monthly tax instalments .......
Short period oI time to lodge the tax return ..............................
Dealing with the tax authority ..................................................
Dealing with external adviser (such as tax agents) ..................
Other (please state)
15. Read the following and kindly indicate your opinion
(by way of a tick) to the following scenario based on
your experience:
Page 3
Strongly
Agree
5
Disagree
2
Strongly
Disagree
1
I believe that compared
to large companies,
more Iavourable tax
treatments should be
given to small and
medium-sized
The chances oI being
audited (tax audit) are so
low that it is worthwhile
trying to 'cut corners' a
little on corporate
income taxes Ior various
I believe that the
relationship with the
Inland Revenue Board
oIIicers has improved
since the
implementation oI the
I believe that each
company's oIIicers have
a moral obligation to
report all oI their
company's income and
pay the correct amount
oI corporate income tax.
Much
More Fair
5
About
the same
3
More
Fair
4
Less
Fair
2
Much
Less Fair
1
Do you believe that the
move to selI-assessment
made the corporate tax
laws more or less Iair?
Overall, has the move to
selI-assessment made the
distribution oI the
corporate income tax
burden among small,
medium and large
companies more or less
Much
More Taxes
5
About
the same
3
More
Taxes
4
Less
Taxes
2
Much
Less Taxes
1
Do you believe that as a
result oI changes in
corporate income tax
during the past Iive
years small and medium
companies are paying
more taxes or less taxes?
Do you believe that as a
result oI changes in
corporate income tax
during the past Iive
years large companies
are paying more taxes or
a) What is the probability that Mr. Awill not report the
RM10,000 oI cash sale on his business income?
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
b) Taking into account all known and likely business
circumstances, to what extent do you agree with Mr. A's
possible action oI not reporting the cash sale oI RM10,000
as his business income?
Strongly Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5
c) Would he be likely to report only part oI the RM10,000 as
business income?
16. Read the following and kindly indicate your opinion to
the following scenario based on your experience:
a) What is the probability that Mr. B will claim the RM10,000
cost oI repair as his business deduction?
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
b) Taking into account all known and likely business circumstances, to
what extent do you agree with Mr. B's possible action oI claiming
RM10,000 as his business deduction?
Strongly Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5
c) Would he be likely to deduct only part oI the RM10,000 as a business
deduction?
Mr. A, a selI-employed businessman is considering not
including a cash sale oI RM10,000 as his business
income in his 2006 tax return. Legally, the cash receipts
oI RM10,000 should be included as a business income.
However, he is almost certain that the tax authority will
not audit him and would not know iI the amount is not
reported.
Mr. B, a selI-employed businessman, had incurred RM10,000
to repair his personal van. In preparing his 2006 tax return, he
is thinking about claiming the costs oI repair as iI the van was
used in his business. Legally, such a claim is not allowable,
but he is almost certain that he will not be audited and that the
Agree
4
Neutral
3
Yes No Unsure

Yes No Unsure

SECTIOND: COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS
The Iollowing questions are about general and overall issues on
the tax compliance burden Iaced by small and medium sized
companies.
18. If your company could claim from the government for the time
and money spent (both internally and externally) by the
company in dealing with corporate income tax for the financial
year 2006, how much would you claim as fair compensation?
RM

19. Please state if you have any specific suggestions for reducing tax
preparation work and documentation in respect of corporate
income tax for small and medium-sized companies.
20. Please state if you have any other comments and/or
suggestions regarding taxation on small and
medium-sized companies.
21. What is your current position in the company?
(Please tick one box)
ChieI Executive OIIicer ........................
Managing Director ................................
Manager ................................................
Accountant ............................................
Other (please speciIy)
Page 4
II you are willing to answer any Iurther questions that may arise Irom this questionnaire,
or participate Iurther, please provide contact details. Your response will be treated with
strict conIidence and solely Ior the purpose oI this study.
(Leave blank iI you wish to maintain anonymity)
Name
Telephone
17. Compared with other companies in your industry, the estimated
level of income tax compliance burden of your company is:
(Please tick one box)
1 2 3 4 5
Very Low 1 2 3 4 5 Very High

Thank you for your kind assistance in completing this questionnaire.
Kindly return this questionnaire in the selI-addressed envelope provided to:
Hijattulah Abdul 1abbar
Faculty of Accountancy
06010 UUMSintok
Kedah