The government's continuous support in ensuring the resilience and development of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic is not open to question, especially considering the huge allocation of funds to SMEs as incentives for sustaining their businesses. To date, the greatest allocation of RM38.7 billion has been made through the 2021 Budget to benefit the SMEs. As such, the obligation of SMEs to contribute to the government by paying taxes voluntarily and accurately

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... is essential. This study examines the perceptions of taxpayers via quadrant analysis to identify organisational strengths and weaknesses based on the ranking between priority and satisfaction towards tax awareness, tax education and tax complexity. A structured questionnaire was developed, validated and distributed to SMEs' owners via an online survey form. A total of 140 respondents completed the questionnaire and they were included in the data analysis. Overall, taxpayers considered paying tax as a burden since it will reduce their income and they also opined that introducing a new digital tax is not compulsory at the moment. In addition, taxpayers were less informed about tax management and services provided by the tax authority. Issues relating to tax complexity and management procedure need to be addressed by the tax authority. These findings could assist tax authorities by focusing on the elements requiring urgent attention to increase tax awareness, especially among SMEs in Malaysia.