KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 ― An association for Malaysian artistes has offered to help celebrities who are unsure about the tax system, after a local actress caused a furore with her suggestion that artistes be given tax relief for "appearance costs”.

Persatuan Karyawan Malaysia (Karyawan) president Datuk Freddie Fernandez said the group is willing to appoint certified tax consultants for the purpose.

"If there are celebrities who are unsure about tax computations based on their annual income, Karyawan is ready to help as long as they keep the receipts and proof of purchase of products and services used, for reference purposes,” he was quoted as saying by Malay daily Kosmo!.

Separately, Persatuan Seniman Malaysia (Seniman) president Zed Zaidi suggested that the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) provide clear guidance to artistes to avoid any confusions.

An IRB spokesman yesterday said some celebrities were taxed more than they should be as they did not take advantage of the tax reliefs that are available to them.

"As people who don't have steady income, celebrities need to have specific exposure on income tax payment,” Zed said.

"I believe when the tax payment process is explained in a simple way, matters like this won't happen again.”

On Monday, actress Nora Danish suggested that artistes be given tax exemptions for the amount they spend to appear attractive in public.

Yesterday, ProjekMMO reported the IRB as saying that celebrities could already claim such costs as well as those for management and advertising as deductible expenditure when filing their taxes.

The spokesman said, however, that many artistes could not do so as they did not provide supporting documents.

Nora’s remark came after celebrity Rozita Che Wan was barred from leaving the country to celebrate her two-year-old daughter’s birthday in London last week, due to tax arrears.

The IRB said last week that 132,501 Malaysians have been barred from going abroad as of September this year because of their failure to pay taxes.

According to the Immigration Department, unpaid taxes are the third most common reason for travel bans on Malaysians, which have also risen by over 50 per cent since last year.