PDPC and IRB in Conflict?

The Personal Data Protection Commissioner (PDPC)’s office functions independently of Government’s interference. Section 45 of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) 2010 permits disclosure of personal information without consent for:

• Prevention and detection of crime;   
• Apprehension and prosecution of offenders;
• Assessment or collection of tax or duty or if any imposition of a similar nature

Source: https://www.malaymail.com

The PDPC has not responded on Government’s decision to give Inland Revenue Board (IRB) access to taxpayer’s bank account details under the latest amendment of Section 106A of the Income Tax Act 1967.

In the U.K., HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has the power to check personal information about taxpayers they're investigating by issuing a ‘third party notice’ to banks and other institutions. This power does have some restrictions, but HMRC intends to introduce a separate ‘financial institution notice’ for gathering financial information. HMRC won’t need approval from a tax tribunal to issue this notice (the independent tax tribunal is responsible for appeals against decisions made by HMRC). HMRC will have to let the taxpayer know why they’re asking for the information – unless a tax tribunal rules that this condition shouldn’t apply. This means HMRC could potentially ask for financial information without the taxpayer’s permission.

The kinds of third-party data HMRC wants to access include:

• Bank and building society interest (building on the information already available)
• Dividends from UK companies and distributions from authorised unit trusts
• Distributions from UK and overseas open-ended investment companies
• Pension contributions
• Gift aid payments to charities
• Data from investment and wealth managers including information about chargeable gains, excess reportable income, interest, dividends and equalisation payments
• Insurance bond chargeable events
• Royalties

It seems authorities around the world are seeking additional powers to secure more data. Then there is Facebook (and the like) who have volumes of personal information for third parties. Without consent, or at least notification, the PDPA is becoming an anachronism. We are moving slowly but surely into totalitarianism without realising it. The “far right” in America or Europe prefer a dictator like Trump and with information centralised. It will then be very similar to communist regimes in Russia or China. Do we want this?

References:

1. IRB accessing taxpayers’ bank account: The deafening silence of PDPC, George Mathews, Focus Malaysia, 20/12/2021

2. IRB to have access to taxpayers’ bank account details under new amendment, MYsinchew, 14/12/2021

3. Can HMRC check your bank account without your permission? Sam Bromley, 21/8/2020 (www.simplybusiness.co.uk)