KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) recorded tax collection of RM183.3 billion, marking an increase of RM7.8 billion from the previous year, translating into a growth of 4.49%.

This collection figure represents the highest in the history of direct tax collection in the country, said its Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Abu Tariq Jamaluddin.

Sharing the data at a media engagement session on Thursday, Abu Tariq expressed gratitude to all taxpayers for their contributions to national revenue, emphasizing that every ringgit contributed by the people to the country is crucial for ensuring the development and stability of the nation.

The IRB's tax collection target for 2024 is set at RM197 billion, which represents a 7.47% growth from the figure achieved last year.

RM573 mil recorded in second voluntary declaration as at end-January

Regarding the ongoing Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP) 2.0, Abu Tariq mentioned that the IRB has received 64,748 voluntary declaration cases as of Jan 31, 2024, amounting to RM573.476 million from both new and existing taxpayers.

Abu Tariq urged taxpayers to participate in the programme, assuring that all disclosures received under the programme will be exempt from penalties.

This is unlike SVDP 1.0, which collected RM7.88 billion in taxes, extra taxes and penalties between Nov 2018 and Sept 2019.

Abu Tariq also assured that no audits or investigations will be conducted on participating taxpayers in their future years of assessment.

The SVDP 2.0 programme started on June 6, 2023, and will end on May 31 this year.