Singapore Saw Tax Revenues Rise In 2016

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

25 August 2017

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore collected SGD47bn (USD34.5bn) in tax revenue for the financial year 2016/17, a five percent increase on the previous year.

The growth was driven by economic of two percent in 2016 as well as a low unemployment rate of 2.1 percent. IRAS collections accounted for 68.2 percent of the Singapore government's total operating revenue.

According to the IRAS Annual Report released on August 24, income tax (including corporate income tax, individual income tax, and withholding tax) accounted for 54 percent of collections, and was up SGD1.1bn (USD808m) from 2015-16.

Goods and sales tax (GST) made up almost a quarter (24 percent) of revenues, while property tax accounted for 9 percent. Notably, Stamp Duty increased by 18.4 percent to SGD3.3bn (USD2.4bn), making up 7 percent of collections, due to a higher number of property transactions.

Singapore stepped up its fight against tax evasion over the financial year, through the signing of bilateral Competent Authority Agreements (CAAs) allowing for the automatic exchange of financial account information under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

Singapore also implemented a country-by-country reporting regime for Singapore multinational enterprises as part of the OECD's base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project.

Two new double taxation agreements (DTAs) were signed in 2016/17 with Cambodia and Ethiopia, bringing the total number of Singapore's DTAs in force to 82.

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