Public's Awareness and Perceptions on the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia Dispute Resolution Department: An Exploratory Study

The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) established the Dispute Resolution Department in 2013. The objectives of the establishment are to resolve disputes as early as possible and to produce lawful, effective and acceptable outcomes. This study aims to explore public's awareness on the department existence after 8 months of establishment and perceptions on the IRBM dispute resolution. Questionnaires were distributed to 2014 National Tax Conference participants (e.g. tax agents, lawyers, taxpayers) held in Kuala Lumpur. The analysis showed that almost half (48.3%) of the respondents did not know the establishment of the department. The respondents agreed (mean 4.28) that tax disputes should be resolved within the tax office to avoid litigation, save cost and expedite audit settlement and avoid delay in revenue collection. The respondents fairly agreed with tax officers’ competencies in resolving disputes (mean 3.71) and involvement of a mediator in resolving disputes (mean 3.39) due to cost and time consuming. More information on the department should be available in the IRBM website and media. This is the first empirical study on the public's awareness and perceptions on IRBM dispute resolution that provides a platform for further research and suggestions to IRBM for improvements.