Preparing taxation computations guidance

Yong Siew Chuen is examiner for CAT Paper 9 (MYS)

This short article aims to provide a few general pointers for candidates sitting CAT Paper 9, Preparing Taxation Computations (MYS), in December 2007 and beyond.

YEAR OF ASSESSMENT

The latest year of assessment examined in each sitting is as follows:

Exam session	Latest year of assessment examined
December 2007	Year of assessment 2007
June 2008	Year of assessment 2007
December 2008	Year of assessment 2008
June 2009	Year of assessment 2008

In each instance, the laws relating to the latest year of assessment would have long been enacted and gazetted, as in Example 1

Example 1

In the December 2007 exam, to be held on 11 December 2007, questions set will relate to the year of assessment 2007 and to prior years of assessment. In accordance with the six-month rule, the laws examined will be those enacted as at 31 May 2007. The amendments to the laws relating to the year of assessment 2007 have already been enacted and gazetted in the form of the Finance Act 2006 on 31 December 2006.

Read the question

Reminding students to read questions carefully may sound obvious to some, but it is a fact that - in the exam - many candidates do not read the question. Instead, they see certain key words in the question and they immediately proceed to write down everything they can remember about the topic.

VALID APPEALS

Example 2

When answering the question ‘Explain what constitutes a valid appeal’, the answer should deal with the necessary ‘ingredients’ of such an appeal, stating that it should be:

• submitted within 30 days of the assessment or additional assessment
• submitted in writing
• sufficiently supported with grounds of appeal.

What often happens when candidates answer this question?

Instead of stating the above, many candidates launch into a description of the passage of an appeal through the court hierarchy in the Malaysian legal system, and explain in detail about the process of applying for an extension of time for the appeal. Take the time to read the question carefully; note the key words, determine what is required, and then proceed to answer the question.

START ON A NEW PAGE

Starting the answer to a new question on a new page helps the marker to accurately add up the marks for each question. Sometimes, candidates end the answer to a question and start the answer to the next question on the same page. This means that the total marks for the page of the exam script relate to two or more questions, thus impeding the marker when adding up individual question marks. Always start a new page for a new question - a simple thing to do, but nevertheless very important.