This study aims (i) to ascertain the demand for tax education among Malaysian undergraduates from non-accounting disciplines; (ii) to examine the level of tax knowledge among non-accounting undergraduates; (iii) to identify the instructional methods to be used; and (iv) to determine the relevant tax topics to be covered in tax course for the non-accounting curriculum. A questionnaire was given to undergraduates from non-accounting disciplines in three public universities in Malaysia from the month of February to April 2011. Out of the 1,575 questionnaires distributed, 995 usable responses were received and analyzed. This survey found (i) majority of the respondents were in favor of tax education being introduced into non-accounting curriculum as an elective paper; (ii) about 44.9% had little tax knowledge; (iii) the most preferred methods of teaching taxation are case studies and face-to-face classroom learning; and (iv) the topics that the respondents would like to learn the most are personal taxation, tax planning for individual and basic concepts of taxation. The findings provided important insight in order to reform the current education policy, to introduce tax education formally in non-accounting curriculum, as tax education is the pillar that builds a tax literate society. This study could be seen as the first large-scale study conducted after the implementation of self-assessment tax system in Malaysia. Study on tax education from developing country like Malaysia is rare; hence, this study would fill a knowledge gap.

No abstract

The implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Malaysia has received criticism from various parties such as businesses, policy makers, professionals, business associations and individuals. Despite the rejections from these parties, the government proceeded to implement GST on 1 April 2015. Subsequently, this led to difficulties encountered by businesses, particularly the manufacturing industry in adjusting the production cost, setting prices of products, and comply with the new indirect tax structure. Hence, this study aims to explore the challenges of GST on SME batik manufacturers pertaining to business performance and compliance. A semi structured interviews were conducted on the top management and owners of SME batik manufacturer in two states of Malaysian Peninsular, namely Kelantan and Terengganu. The respondents reported that, during the era of GST, sales of their batik products decreased tremendously. In addition, they described the GST system as a complex system that affects compliance. This study solicits government’s attention on the impact of GST on Malaysian batik manufacturers. The findings suggest that it is essential for government to devise plans in reducing the financial burden of batik manufacturers and to simplify the GST mechanism in encouraging a high level of GST compliance.

This study aims (i) to examine the level of tax knowledge among non-accounting undergraduates, (ii) to identify the instructional methods to be used and (iii) to ascertain the relevant topics to be covered in tax education curriculum for the non-accounting programs. An online survey was conducted to collect data. In total, 395 usable responses were received and used for data analysis. The survey found that about 50% of the respondents had an average knowledge of personal tax. Online instructional methods such as e-tax discussion, e-tutorial and e-tax quiz are preferred. The most preferred topics are personal taxation and tax planning. Overall, the findings suggest that non-accounting undergraduates need to be exposed to tax education.