This morning, one SME boss WhatsApp me.
“Mr Koh, can I pay commission?”

I replied:
“To whom?”
“For what purpose?”

Before he could type his long explanation, I called him directly.

Then the story came out.

He wanted to pay commission to his 15-year-old daughter.

Everything was nicely prepared.
Payment voucher signed.
IC attached.
Bank transfer ready to her account.

All very neat done.
But
All very dangerous.

I told him:
“Boss, when I was 15 years old, I was still playing goli.”

Deep inside my head, I already knew.
This looks like pasar malam tax planning from last century.

Some SME bosses still think:

Got voucher means okay.
Got IC means okay.
Got bank transfer means okay.
Got signature means okay.

Boss, IRB is not checking whether your document looks pretty.

IRB will ask:
“What work did your daughter do?”
“How was the commission calculated?”
“Where is the sales evidence?”
“Where is the business purpose?”
“Why is a 15-year-old receiving commission from the company?”

And if IRB really invites your daughter for coffee at their office, what will happen?

She is only 15.
She will panic.
She will cry.

Then your so-called tax saving becomes family drama.

My dear SME bosses,
please don’t use your children as tax deduction tools.

A real commission must have real work.
A real payment must have real commercial reason.

A real tax deduction must survive tax audit.
Tax planning is allowed.
Cowboy tax evasion is not.

Last century punya trick,
Don’t bring into this century lah.