KUALA LUMPUR: Sovereign immunity cannot be invoked by the Australian government and its tax office (ATO) in the case of a Malaysian timber tycoon with regard to his tax issue, the High Court was told. John said sovereign immunity is no longer absolute and that Malaysia practises restricted sovereign immunity to other countries. He said the defendants' decision also meant that Hii would have to pay Australia on a worldwide basis for all incomes that the tycoon has earned outside Australia. Naban argued that the matter involved a governmental act and could not be reviewed by the Malaysian court because of the sovereign immunity. He has named the Commissioner of Taxation of the Commonwealth of Australia, his deputy and the Commonwealth of Australia as defendants in his lawsuit.

Source: The Star April 22, 2017 02:26 UTC