Sunday 16 April 2017

Doctors are criminals? (updated)

(Updates at the bottom of this post)

This is the main front page story of Mingguan Malaysia today,



The story was sent to me by a doctor, who is one of those accused as trying to cheat in paying their taxes.

He accompanied the story with this remark,

"Jahat kan Dr kat private hospital - dah kira criminals nih"

I first highlighted the issue in this post in September last year,


My posts was relatively sympathetic of the doctors.

A colleague, who is an accountant was however not very pleased with the tone of my post.

He insisted that the doctors are cheats and should be dealt with accordingly.

His argument was that the doctors should had hired accountants to do their taxes if they have no intention to cheat.

So, I checked it out with a neurosurgeon friend about the accountant's allegation against him and the other doctors.

The neurosurgeon is the one whom I highlighted in this post

Please give the good doctor what he wants 

Yes, he's the one, who helped out by performing surgeries at a government hospital.

He said when he started his private practice about four years ago, he followed what the other doctors did, that is to hire an accountant consultant to do his taxes.

He did exactly as told by the accountant when it comes to taxes.

His was no different than the other private doctors.

Then, he was told by the Inland Revenue Board that he was not paying his taxes properly.

Now he has to pay the amount said not paid previously, along with quite a huge sum of penalties.

"I was really not trying to cheat my taxes," he said.

" I was just following what was told by my accountant.

"I really don't mind paying the sum they said I have not paid, but when they imposed the penalties, I feel that it makes me some sorts of a criminal.

"And they were not very nice about the whole thing."

Well, I guess the Inland Revenue Board people, being very powerful that they are, couldn't care less about such consideration.

In this previous post which I did as a follow-up to the issue,

In defense of good doctors 

I wrote again about my friend the neurosurgeon (excerpts),

I believe the good doctor I highlighted in that post was also caught in the tax issue.

I hope the whole thing will not discourage him from trying to help the less well-off patients at the government hospitals.

Well, saving lives is not easy after all.

There are people who don't even want to appreciate it.


Unfortunately, it turns out that my friend was actually quite affected by what the taxmen did to him.

He was angry.

He told me a few days ago that he had stopped performing surgeries at the government hospital.

He said since the government has no consideration for him, he doesn't feel very much like helping out at the government hospital anymore.

Actually, I was quite sad and lost for words when he said that.

Nothing much I can say because he volunteered to help out at the hospital and therefore it's his right too to stop doing so. Not many bothered to do what he did in the first place.

Nonetheless, I hope that once he cool off, he would go back and help out again.

They don't have a neurosurgeon at that government hospital and patients with spinal or brain ailment and injury were forced to be transferred to KL general hospital. It lessen the chances of survival.

Okay, maybe my friend could consider helping out in treating all the other patients again except those who are  taxmen and accountants. Can?

UPDATES

Please read these stories too :


44 comments:


  1. Betut punya bayar mesti tatak hat punya maa aa .

    Apa pasat mau cekap tatak mau tolong Gomen ,manyak iklas punya, mesti ingat mau tolong sakit punya olang maa aa,itu macam baru betut lea aa.

    Iklas punya olang manyak susah mau cali sekalang ,semua kila wang punya maa aa .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Setuju dgn lufang

      Prof kangkung

      Delete
    2. Ya la... Lufang.

      Lulu, kelajaan manyak wang punya time, manyak kasi bazir wang lakyat. Bayar sama Consultant & Advisor, RM7.2 Billion, lalam 5 tahun... lo. Tabur wang sana-sini, macam luit bukan keluar poket sendili. Semua kerja menteri, sendili bikin... lawat hospital, lawat sekolah... kasi peluntukan-kilat... upgrade semua facilities... cali popularity lo.

      Masa kelajaan manyak WANG, tak mau ikut Jihad KPDNKK, pelangi itu olang-tengah. lagi mau guna olang-tengah, Razak Baginda, Deepak Carpet & Jho Low lalam ulusan kelajaan. Bazir wang lakyat, bayar komisen, sama lia olang.

      Bila halga minyak jatuh, linggit jatuh, semua commodity jatuh... balu mau panggil Ploffessor2 Unibersity, minta nasihat.
      Luit sulah tak ala, balu tak mau guna olang-tengah. Itu pun, pasai sulah selik sama 1MDB-Jho Low... guna Agama pulak, cali popularity.

      Bila kelajaan WANG tak cukup... mesti cali lain WANG lebih ma. Kolek sana, colek sini, cali lari-cukai punya olang.
      Siapa jual lokok-halam... satu kotak 20 batang pun mau denda RM100,000.

      Negala berpendapatan-tinggi ma. Halga balang pun mesti naik punya, lo...

      Lulu... bila kelajaan mau naik gaji kakitangan-awam pun, halga-balang ikut naik lo. Najib ingat lia pandai, kasi naik gaji diam-diam... tapi peniaga tahu ma.
      Haiya... macam monyet pelintah NegaruKu.

      Delete
  2. Over zealous tax man. Kunun follow rule by the book. Some work out very nasty filing investigation. Just send team doing the dig. Then later man in black come out to the rescue. Doctors work hard day to night but no cheat to their patients.

    ReplyDelete
  3. There are many ways to discuss this. Let's do some assumptions like the doctors here are those who are trained medical practicioners with post graduate specialisation.

    First, the cost of 'making a specialist' is very expensive. Perhaps it is running to RM millions per person. Eg. The cost to get a Malaysian Student to graduate with MBBS from a British uni alone is over RM1 million.

    Second, most if not all Malay specialists are sponsored students and sponsored medical practicioners getting their post graduate specialist qualifications.

    Third, by that score, they owe it to the people of this country to provide affordable if not complete subsidised high quality healthcare.

    Fourth point is interesting. However, many opted to go into private practice the moment the opportunity arises.

    And in private practice, they make good money. As if it's a business for them.

    Fifth, in private practice also, they only treat patients who can afford to pay. No money, no deal. That is business deal, 100%.

    Sixth, it is no longer about healing the sick and Hippocratic Oath.

    Let's simplify all that. Government uses funds from taxpayers to develop specialists, and they cabut to provide healthcare and literally cost the sick an arm and leg to get treatment.

    That nobility should be reciprocated. Hence, the tough taxman on them.

    Their capitalistic newly found traits are matched against their diligence of submission for annual income returns. Give little room for tolerance and hit them hard when they miss something.

    It's their onus to the new found wealth, derived from the sick.

    This include getting the right people and information, do manage their capitalism affairs.

    Tax evasion is a crime punishable by penalties which include jail time. Be it this land or any states.

    When Elliot Ness wanted to go after the notorious gangster Alphonse Capone, it was tax evasion that incarcerate the criminal.

    For your Neurosurgeon friend who is now sulking and disvolunteering to no longer serve Government hospital, it is only reflective how selfcentred of a person he is.

    There are still seriously ill Malaysians who cannot afford to get his treatment in private healthcare establishment and dependent on highly subsidised Govt hospitals being denied because of the Neurosurgeon had a poor judgment in getting his financial affairs sorted out.

    That should also be seen as a moral crime.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My friend may be self centred and everything you accused him of. But he did save many lives when he was helping out at that government hospital as well as during the many years he served as a government doctor. Thank you.

      Delete
    2. It is expected that a doctor to save live. Shouldn't neither be an issue or to be raised as a point to rebut.

      The issue at hand, if he evade tax then it is a crime. Please refer to the Income Tax Act 1967.

      The act also clearly stated that it is an onus of every person of vocation to submit returns to IRB. Failure is punishable.

      Another point that he has now resorted to be a full fledge capitalist from skills and knowledge obtained which was funded by taxpayers and only serve to save life people who can pay. That is not as per Hippocratic Oath.



      Delete
    3. Sister, with a globally-recognized Fiscal Crook at the helm of the nation are you "shocked" by the manipulations of his buaya taxmen?

      Delete
    4. I'm not rebutting anything. Just pointing out to you that he's only human and he has done as much as he can as a doctor. Saving lives is not like doing accounting. It's not all black and white. Only those who have real respect for humanity and understand what compassion is all about would understand. Thank you.

      Delete
    5. Ex AA & Co, read la betul2. These doctors did submit their tax returns but wrongly, under business instead of as individuals. Some were wrongly advised by their tax consultants.

      Delete
    6. The facts remain tax man choose who they want to investigate and suddenly there's MIB person come to the rescue and resolved.

      Why are many fish head curry house very close with tax man and immigration.

      Delete
    7. The tax consultation is the one who should be punished.after all the tax consulantant is being paid by the doctors to fill the tax return.

      Prof Kangkung

      Delete
    8. Hmm.. Kena simpati ke dgn white collar sympathy scheme ni Annie?

      Delete
    9. Weird...

      The doctors are human lah wei..being good brain they are..they surely will go for the job which bring them more benefit including income. Yes..they save lives but they have their families and lives as well.

      If you say the docs only do life saving..then how about the politician? They are supposed to serve the rakyat..then how come they all so wealthy?

      Then the police...the lawyers...etc..do you expect them to just guarding your house and being paid to protect the civilians?

      Delete
    10. I agree 16.20.

      Ex AA & co is totally talking BS.

      Private practice if about business. It is not charity. How should you expect private practice to survive if not making profit? Even the government hosp budget also being heavily reduced.

      Oath? As far as i am concerned, the private docs are all treating their patients exactly like their colleagues in the gov sector. If you talk about oath, then how about the politicians oath? Serve the people? Upholding justice? Bla bla bla..why bought luxury cars using Ap for instance?
      Haha

      Delete
  4. Annie, taxman pun ada boss & under pressure. The fact is, with so many retrenchments in 2016 especially in the highly paid O&G sector, the tax collection is declining, so lhdn is under pressure to squeeze out every single sen they can. Quite a number have gone from 6 figure income tax to eligible to receive br1m.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Has anybody noticed that lawyers and politicians and the families of politicians never seem to get into trouble with the taxman?

    Friend of Totoro

    ReplyDelete
  6. Saudi royal donated 2.6 billion to the prime minister, was any of it being taxed? Taxman tak nak siasat ke?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Auntie Rosie went on shopping sprees overseas. Repatriated them home either via by gomen's jet or shipment. Were they adequately taxed? Or not being taxed at all? Taxman tak nak siasat ke?

    ReplyDelete
  8. New tax bill for tourists, new tax bill on imports, instant noodle no longer zero rated GST, 100 percent penalty for tax evasion, and now witch hunt on tax dodgers from medical practicioners.
    Gomen desperate for cash. Reserve has diminish, Investments are dry up. There's lots of money need to be made. Go and get them..Squeeze them till last drop. Squeeze them all!! Hoorayy..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For rm90 million, Najib got Pas very cheaply. The sum paid represented only about 3% of the us$1billion of the 1mdb stolen monies deposited into his Ambank account which included the tranche referred by JLow as '681 American pies’.

      The sale &'purchase was effected through political party property agent, one Nasaruddin & payment was made by cheque from Najib's Ambank account which contained the laundered 1mdb monies. Legally & criminally all are guilty of money laundering charges including Pandi who abetted the crime by protecting Najib from further investigation & eventual prosecution.

      Politically, the effect of the S&P means that Pas is now a subsidiary of Umno or worst it belongs to Najib personally since the sum paid was from Najib's personal laundered monies.

      The buyer has not denied the purchase. Only the property agent and the sellers are denying that there was such transaction.
      The only reason one could guess why the political party property agent is denying the S&P is because the transaction is criminal since the payment was from laundered monies.

      Secondly, he may be hiding the commission that he had criminally & illegally received. The sellers are denying it for the simple reason that the monies received should belong to the party.

      Assuming that Pas has 1million members, each member stands to get 90k from the S&P. That was the only reason that there was a denial from the agent and the sellers that we can think of.

      Cash is King...so said the 1mdb thief. He has proven that theory to the fullest.

      Delete
  9. After reading the articles in Mingguan Msia, I'm convinced ada orang nak cari glamer. Wartawan pun purposely bias towards the doctors.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Most private doctors regiter their services as a company, so the tax form, company tax form, so that they can deduct all their expenses from their income, so that the net income will be less, and so the tax also will be less. It seems now IRB insist, their income as individual income, like kita kita yg makan gaji ni.

    Fair or not to them ?
    Some doctors had to buy some equipments, some materials, some medicines themselves, that are not provided by the hospital they serve, so to me, IRB, should be more considerate, may be, discussion and dialog with MMA would be the best.
    Takut pulak aku nanti, kawan kawan IRB yg sakit, takder dokter nak rawat or they wont deliver the best, sbb dah sakit hati.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aku ada kawan yg jadi doktor kat private hospital, kalau tengok dia org kerja siang malam kat hospital, sampai ker hati kita squizzed diaorg kerja siang malam 3 bulan penuh, all the income for that whole 3 months just to pay tax. Lebih sakit hati lg our hard earned money diguna sewenang wenangnya oleh....Kadang kadang, geram jugak aku.
      Aku sendiri pun yg kerja makan gaji ni ada bnyk pengalaman tak baik dgn IRB ni, ribu ribu jugak lah yg main senyap jer, bising bising pun bukan boleh dapat balik, tolak sana, tolak sini. Salah kat dia pun, kita jugak yg kena, mentang mentanglah ada kuasa.

      Delete
    2. Sebab tu saya cakap ada org gila glamer. Kalau betul nak selesaikan masaalah, bawak la berbincang dgn MAA. Ni tak, heboh kat paper.

      Delete
    3. Anon 1:34 18 April. I fully agree. They are just like any other private practitioners. Audit Firms. Accountant Firms. Law Firms. Etc. Why pick on the doctors only. I am not in that profession. But what is unjust must not be tolerated.

      Delete
  11. Ustad yg ubat2 orang tu private practice jugak ke?

    Jual produk air ubat tu kira prescription ke camne?

    Tak pahamlah.

    ReplyDelete
  12. As PM and Finance Minister too, he coined 1MDB into existence through debt with Jho Low as middleman, without due diligence and discussion with his cabinet. Then he decided, 1MDB being exempted from paying tax to the gomen i.e the Rakyat.

    Pala-butoh la... Rakyat diDahulukan.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Annie,

    A reader of OSTB commented that there is a possibility that GE will be held during fasting month. Boleh investigate sikit?

    ReplyDelete
  14. A doctor friend said he set up a company just to make sure his account record can be prepared correctly and truthfully by accountant he is working with..

    He is very bad in accounting and book keeping..

    Then..all of a sudden...the dracula changed the system (which have been there for years already) and shamelessly accusing our doctor friends for being tax dodgers?

    Wow....unbelievable.

    ReplyDelete
  15. 3k docs.
    i believe the numbers out there are lot more.
    plus extended families.
    plus staffs and colleagues.
    Will surely 'punish' the gomen come ge.
    Wait and see..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After GE pakatoon won...then what? 3k docs+families+staff+colleagues no need to pay tax.The rest plus all the pakatoons pay tax!
      Cannot wait to see wtf is inside the pakatoon brain...less!

      Delete
    2. Then the debt collected By 1mdb is RM27.8 billion is good for us Malaysian?
      They sacrificed 2 IPTA and 3 hospitals for that debt
      It's clear that UMNO now won't help anyone but the select few

      Delete
    3. See? How stupid the anon 23.52 the dedak-eater..

      Each and everyone of them will always pay taxes..but paying taxes to a cleptoratic government under a moronic leader is totally bull$***.

      I myself will pay tax happily if the government is honest, fair , truly serving us the rakyat and so on.

      Why on earth the IRB is squeezing as much money as they can from the rakyat? Because the government is running out of fund. Why? Because the leaders are imbecile. Just like 23.52. Lol

      Delete
    4. I agree with Anon 15:59.

      Honest and loyal Rakyat would not mind paying taxes to a clean and honest government, which spend Rakyat's money prudently, wisely and fairly.

      e.g.
      Its was not fair to Rakyat of other religion when the government, on the pretext of Corporate Social Responsibility, used 1MDB's borrowed-money to sponsor Haj trips for hundreds of Village Imams.

      Delete
    5. Borrowed money has been paid back accordingly...other religion flourish well in this country right! Other religion is not so well flourish in perhaps kashmir..pattani..philipine..xijiang..burma..and the list continue oops even in an island down south and up north! RD...this country is the fairerst place for you and the rakyat of other religion to stay!

      Delete
    6. "Borrowed money has been paid back accordingly..."

      Is that right?
      Paid-back by incurring more debt? Is that what you mean by... 'accordingly'?
      Selling Rakyat's assets to foreigners, below purchased cost?
      Selling Rakyat's primeland, freehold?
      What about those Billions of debt, not accounted for?
      Those Billions, inform of assets and cash being frozen in the US and Singapore?

      In the first place... 1MDB was a scheme to scam. Just like Razak Baginda & Deepak Carpet, soliciting Jho Low since TIA... then 1MDB to borrow money on behalf of the Rakyat... was not about generating profits for the Rakyat's well-being.

      "this country is the fairerst place for you and the rakyat of other religion to stay!"

      You're somewhat correct...but that doesn't mean we can klepet the coffers of people from other religion... to justify our fairness.
      Anyway... How could you demand people to respect our PM when we're a Kleptocracy?
      It doesn't bode well for the good image of Islam too. Just as sponsoring Haj pilgrimage with borrowed Rakyats' money.

      Delete
    7. Anon 10:51.

      Wake up. You have a blur vision of what is happening in this country.

      Delete
  16. following macai logic, mega scandal that happened today is considered 'aman damai'
    hashtag najib turun
    hashtag pencuri milo masuk penjara
    hashtag pencuri billion masuk penjara jugak wahai si bebal

    ReplyDelete
  17. The year 1999 was declared a tax free year & Dr M won the GE that year!!! Hidup Dr M...

    ReplyDelete
  18. KEPUKIAN UMNGOK….

    I was at the Selangor Election Commission’s office this morning to check out the voter objection hearing process. I was shocked to find out a total of 354 voters from the Subang Parliamentary constituency (of which Kota Damansara, Paya Jaras and Bukit Lanjan are part of) were objected.

    About half made it to today’s hearing and had their voting right reinstated. Of those present, some took emergency leave, some took unpaid leave, some postponed work and meeting arrangements and some came at the eleventh hour after receiving the EC’s PosLaju letter only yesterday.

    The atmosphere in the room was tense and some felt confused as to why they were objected randomly. Nevertheless, every single one present were determined to make sure their right to vote will be reinstated in time for GE14.

    After checking with some of them, I realised they were not randomly selected.

    1. Majority of the objected voters had registered for change of voting address at the Post Office.
    2. Almost all were Chinese.
    3. They had applied to move to two seats in Subang Parliament ie. DUN Kota Damansara and DUN Paya Jaras – seats which UMNO has high stakes in retaining or wresting.
    4. Majority of the Objectors (Pembantah) came from one address: No 10, Jalan Pekaka 8/3, Seksyen 8, Kota Damansara 47810 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. (This is the address of UMNO Bahagian Subang)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Berjuang melawan berita palsu
    -najib razak

    Contoh berita palsu

    Harga barang akan turun kerana gst
    -ahmad maslan


    ReplyDelete
  20. Bla bla bla...tak lama lagi bankrap lah malaysia ni.Bla bla bla...betul.Bla bla bla...bulih kerat jari.Bla bla bla blupp! Oh ye ke...bila aku cakap hah? Ohhh itu 3 tahun dulu...kalau tak percaya kita tunggu 3 tahun lagi confirm bankrap punya!!! WTF.....

    ReplyDelete
  21. Why always money..money..brim..brim..we don't want all this.We want a clean and good goverment rule this country so that all the citizen got decent job and not depend on all this...sh..t Like father always giving money his son.

    ReplyDelete