CYBERJAYA, March 1 ― The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) said today it is targeting to collect RM134.7 billion in direct taxes this year.

The target is an increase of 6.1 per cent compared to 2017’s RM126.9 billion, the agency's chief executive Datuk Seri Sabin Samitah said.

"IRB is confident that with the growth in the country's Gross Domestic Product, which is in the region of between 5 and 5.5 per cent for 2018, God willing, IRB can achieve the collection target set by the government.

"For your information, the tax collected till February 27, 2018 was RM21.8 billion, whereby it marks an increase of 23.79 per cent compared to the achievement [for the same period] in 2017,” he said in a speech at the 22nd IRB Day celebration here.

He added that the tax collection for 2017 had increased by RM9 billion compared to the same period the year before at RM123.23 billion.

Last year, IRB had announced that tax evaders will be hit with a 100 per cent penalty starting January this year, instead of the current 45 per cent.

Among those liable to be penalised are "hardcore defaulters” such as repeat offenders, and those who still fail to comply with tax laws even after they have been audited or investigated before.

The director-general of the IRB is empowered to impose such penalty under the Income Tax Act 1967.