Social Media influencers must declare income and… pay tax

Social Media influencers must declare income and… pay tax

What is social media?

As per wikipedia, here are logos of some popular social medias.

My mother’s wise words about paying tax (2000)

In 1999, I had to pay tax for the 2nd year and it was even higher than the year before. So I told my mum that I feel it’s unfair to pay ever higher tax. My mum said that if I do not wish to pay ever higher taxes, then I need to ensure I do not earn ever higher salaries. Whoops. Haha. That was the time when I decided I want to pay ever higher taxes as long as I earn ever higher salaries. This is why I believe tax and death are the two things no one can ever run away from. Remember to stay as healthy as possible so that we can continue to enjoy what we want to do. Coming back to the tax topic.

Social media influencers will now have to be more detail oriented with the income they receive. LHDN has spoken.

Article in nst.com.my Social media or digital influencers are required to declare all their income, including free products and gifts received for reviews or promotions.

This requirement is outlined in new guidelines issued by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) on the tax treatment of income earned by social media and digital influencers.

“Social media influencers should be recognised as a profession as they are able to generate income arising from and received through social media platforms or from marketing activities resulting from their influence on social media.

“In terms of allowable expenses, social media influencers may claim expenses allowed under Section 33 of the Income Tax Act, including internet costs, filming and editing expenses, while personal or capital expenses are not allowed. Please read here for the full report: Article in nst.com.my

With an ageing population, taxes are super important

Did you know that Malaysia’s population will peak in 2059? After 2059, the population will no longer be increasing and instead will be reducing. We have too few births and even these days, it’s already way below the minimum 2.2 in order for us to have some population growth. Here’s that projection by Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)

When fewer people are working versus the overall population, tax matters become critical. I know, we want to also talk about how tax money is spent. I agree totally that it must be spent wisely, spent without hanky-panky, spent to ensure better livelihood of fellow Malaysians, spent on where it matters and not into pockets of the one administering… Just need to note that they are two separate things yeah. We need to ensure we have the money first.

Earn more, pay tax, no worries OR Earn little, no tax, lots of worries?

Strive to earn more. These days, with the social media, the world has become so small. The market is now everyone with access to online. Influencers, especially when they have a novel idea and they are really creative to keep pushing it, they can earn a lot. If the earning is insufficient, then there’s little worry about tax. In fact why bother to continue as an influencer if it clearly does not work? So, focus on making it work, earn more money and then pay tax.

Always stay updated with the latest news about finance, property and everything. Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER). 

Alternatively, Follow me on Telegram here.

Please LIKE kopiandproperty.com FB page to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles.

Else, follow me on Twitter here.