Singapore: Taxes collected rise 6.8% to bumper SGD50.2bn

• The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) pulled in bumper tax revenues of SGD50.2bn in the last fiscal year, up 6.8% y/y.
• Economists said a sharp pickup in gross domestic product (GDP) growth last year and the start of this year, as well as a nearly 50 per cent surge in stamp duty collections fuelled by increased property transactions and collective sales swelled the taxman’s coffers.
• Iras chairman Tan Ching Yee pointed to a 3.6% expansion in Singapore’s growth in 2017, which outstripped 2016’s 2.4% growth. The better-than-expected economic performance, coupled with a low unemployment rate of 2.2%, contributed to higher tax collections in 2018, she said.
• Iras’ collections accounted for 66.2% of government operating revenue and 11.1% of GDP, or economic output.
• Income tax comprising corporate income tax, individual income tax and withholding tax made up 54% of Iras’ collections for the 12 months ended 31 Mar. The total collected was SGD27.2 billion, 6.3% higher than the previous year, due largely to higher corporate income tax collections. Healthy earnings helped lift those receipts by about 10 per cent to SGD15bn.
• Stamp duty collections surged nearly 50% to SGD4.9bn, thanks to a rise in property transactions and collective sales activity kicking into high gear. Property tax collections were consistent with the previous year at SGD4.4bn. The amount of additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) assessed in the last calendar year jumped 66% to SGD1.57bn from 2016, according to Iras data. In comparison, it rose by 20% between 2015 and 2016.
• Goods and services tax collections were flat at around SGD11bn, while betting taxes, which comprise betting duty, casino tax and private lotteries duty, totalled SGD2.7bn, also unchanged from a year ago.

External Link: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/taxes-collected-rise-68-to-bumper-502b