Perceptions of a Pre-filled Tax Return System among Personal Income Taxpayers in Malaysia

Implementation of a pre-filled return system is crucial in an effort to reduce tax compliance costs. The system no longer requires taxpayers to fill in their tax return form. This paper is aimed at examining the level of awareness of Malaysian taxpayers towards the system and the factors that affect the taxpayers‘ perceptions towards the system. Questionnaire surveys were used to gather information. Overall, it is found that Malaysian taxpayers have low level of awareness on the system. It is found that ability to reduce tax complexity and compliance costs, data security, and privacy are the main factors that affect the respondents‘ perceptions towards the system. The findings also highlight important characteristics of respondents who welcome or unwelcome the new system. The paper concludes that the perceptions of Malaysian taxpayers towards the system can be improved provided that the government increases their efforts in promoting the system.