CYBERJAYA: The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) will focus more on measures to increase tax collection this year to ensure its target of RM197 billion can be achieved.
IRB chief executive officer Datuk Dr Abu Tariq Jamaluddin said the focus would be on tax leakage issues involving individuals with assets and wealth that do not align with their tax declaration, as well as unreported income from Malaysia stored in overseas accounts.
"Besides that, (focus will be put on) cross border transactions, domestic transfer pricing, online transactions and cases of the shadow economy. "At the same time, the implementation of e-invoicing is also one of the board's primary initiatives this year," he said in his speech at the 2024 Revenue Day Celebration, here today.
Present to launch the event was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Other ministers present include Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan and Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying.
Meanwhile, Abu Tariq added that after 28 years of establishment, the board has achieved outstanding achievements in all aspects of tax administration, human capital development and the application of the latest technologies.
He added that the IRB also successfully recorded the highest direct tax collection in history, amounting to RM183.34 billion, with the collection ratio standing at 9.91 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), higher than the direct tax-to-GDP ratio for other Asia-Pacific countries of 8.0 per cent.
"Despite the achievements gained, we remain vigilant, and proactive and will continuously come out with strategies to ensure the country's tax collection targets are being met."