taxBytes@iras

IRAS Annual Report 2015/16: Singapore’s Tax Revenue Up 3.2%, High On-Time Filing and Payment Rates Across Tax Types, Low Tax Arrears at 0.62%

• Taxes for Nation-Building
  In Financial Year (FY) 2015/16, IRAS collected $44.8 billion in tax revenue, 3.2% more than the collection in FY 2014/15.
• Excellent Service and New Initiatives Helped in Enhancing Voluntary Compliance
  New service initiatives, as well as system and process enhancements, contributed to taxpayers’ ease of filing and paying taxes.
• Deterring Non-Compliance
  IRAS audited and investigated some 11,450 taxpayers and recovered over $411 million in taxes and penalties in FY2015/16.

Does Your Turnover Exceed $1 million?

Register for GST if your taxable turnover for the past four quarters (i.e. from Oct 2015 to Sep 2016) exceeds $1 million. You can monitor your turnover using the GST registration calculator.  

GST registration liability is assessed on a quarterly basis.

Common GST Errors to Avoid When Claiming Input Tax

You may have incurred GST (input tax) when purchasing from GST-registered suppliers or importing goods into Singapore. You can claim input tax incurred when you satisfy all of the conditions.

Do not claim input tax on the following disallowed expenses:

1. Staff's medical expenses and medical/accident insurance premiums (unless they are mandatory under the Work Injury Compensation Act)
2. Club subscription fees
3. Cost and running expenses of motor cars
4. Benefits such as gifts provided to staff's family