THE Inland Revenue Board’s attempt to impose an additional RM313.8 million tax assessment on Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid has been overturned after the High Court found the move was unlawful and unreasonable.
High Court judge Evawani Farisyta Mohammad allowed Na’imah’s judicial review application today, ruling that the tax authority had acted beyond its powers when it sought to recover the amount linked to three properties in the United States.
The court found that the properties, which were acquired in the 1990s by her late husband Tun Daim Zainuddin, could not form the basis of the additional tax assessment for the 2018 year of assessment.
Evawani Farisyta said the tax authorities’ demand for documents relating to assets purchased decades ago was also unreasonable, noting that taxpayers are only required under the Income Tax Act to maintain records for seven years.
The legal challenge involved three US properties — Nantasket Beach Resort, Chauncy Place and Hotel Buckminster — which the IRB alleged were linked to undeclared income used for their acquisition and subsequent earnings.
The properties were estimated to be worth US$178 million (more than RM700 million).
Na’imah and Daim had earlier settled RM31.498 million in additional taxes for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 assessment years after opting for joint taxation.
The judge also noted that the additional tax demand appeared to have arisen following the disposal of the properties.
In allowing the application, the court made no order on costs.
Following the decision, Na’imah said the ruling reinforced her confidence in the judiciary and described it as an important check against the misuse of public authority.
In a statement issued through her lawyer, Datuk S Saravana Kumar, she said she remained a responsible taxpayer and law-abiding citizen.
“The ruling today shows that the judiciary is a branch that taxpayers can rely on where there is an abuse of public authority,” she said.
Na’imah was granted permission to proceed with the judicial review in April last year by then High Court judge Shahnaz Sulaiman, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal.
The court had, at the time, found that there were legal issues surrounding the IRB’s assessment that required further examination. – August 6, 2026
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