KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP) that will grant amnesty to tax evaders who now declare their full incomes.

Lim said the government believed the public will now be more willing to report their earnings in full as they are assured that the government will not be deceitful or wasteful with public spending.

"Should the authorities begin to receive reports by tomorrow onwards, they will only face a 10 per cent penalty on the tax they are required to pay, until March 31 next year,” Lim said during the Budget 2019 tabling in the Dewan Rakyat.

He added that those who stepped forward to declare between April 1 and June 30 next year would face a 15 per cent penalty, while those who declare after the programme ends on June 30 can expect the penalty to range from 80 to 300 per cent per existing laws.

"The lowered tax penalty also applies to earnings stored in offshore accounts. Under the Organisation for Economic and Co-Operation and Development, we will implement the Automatic Exchange of Information (policy).

"The policy will allow other taxation authorities to exchange information with one another to better facilitate auditing and investigations,” Lim said.