A 48-year-old Taoist priest, Lim Yen Ei (“Lim”), has been sentenced to 11 weeks’ imprisonment and ordered to pay penalties of $125,962.20 for evading $41,987 in Income Tax for the Year of Assessment (“YA”) 2020, with five other charges taken into consideration for the purposes of his sentencing. 

Lim, who owns San Jie Hun Xuan Dao Tan as a sole proprietorship, falsely stated his trade income in his Income Tax Returns with the wilful intent to evade tax. IRAS investigations revealed that for YA 2020, Lim significantly understated his trade income, declaring only $16,588 when his actual income was $324,482 - nearly twenty times the declared amount. This led to $41,987 in taxes being undercharged.

Keeping Proper Records

IRAS would like to remind all taxable persons to keep proper records and accounts of all their taxable transactions. Records pertaining to income tax must be retained for a period of 5 years from the relevant YA, while records pertaining to GST must be retained for a period of not less than 5 years from the prescribed accounting period. Those who fail to do so may be liable on conviction to a fine and/or a jail term. 

IRAS Warns Against Tax Evasion

IRAS takes a serious view of non-compliance and tax evasion. There will be severe penalties for those who wilfully evade tax. The authority will not hesitate to bring offenders to court. Offenders may face a penalty of up to four times the amount of tax evaded. Jail terms may also be imposed.

Reporting of Malpractices

Businesses and individuals are encouraged to immediately disclose any past tax mistakes. IRAS will treat such disclosures as mitigating factors when considering action to be taken. Those who wish to disclose past mistakes or report malpractices can write to:

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
Investigation & Forensics Division
55 Newton Road, Revenue House
Singapore 307987

Email: [email protected]

 Cash Rewards for Informants

A reward based on 15% of the tax recovered, capped at $100,000, would be given to informants if the information and/or documents provided lead to a recovery of tax that would have otherwise been lost. All payments are at the discretion of the Comptroller. IRAS will ensure that the identities of informants are kept strictly confidential.

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore