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[h=2]Congratulation to IRAS record breaking $34.7B tax income last year[/h]
Record tax revenues for Iras last year
By Yasmine Yahya
http://www.cpareviewmaterials.com/pr...images/Tax.jpg
RECORD economic growth last year also sent records tumbling in the tax office with $34.7 billion pulled in.
The bumper collection - it was up 16.3 per cent on the previous year - was thanks to the blistering 14.5 per cent expansion in gross domestic product (GDP) which sent income and spending soaring.
Corporate income tax collection swelled 11.8 per cent to $10.7 billion for the 12 months to March 31, according to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) yesterday.
Companies reported higher corporate profits, on account of better economic performance in 2010,' Iras noted in the annual report.
The executive chairman of NRA Capital, Mr Kevin Scully, noted: 'Manufacturing was especially strong last year. A lot of electronics companies recorded profit increases of over 100 per cent as the economy recovered.'
About 135,000 companies make up the corporate income tax base, with almost 99 per cent of those classified as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
While they are numerically dominant, SMEs contributed only 39.7 per cent to the total corporate income tax take last year. The rest came from big firms.
Individuals contributed income tax of $6.5 billion, up 5.9 per cent on the previous year.
The increase was mainly because a one-off personal tax rebate of 20 per cent, capped at $2,000, had been awarded in 2009, which cut into the tax take, Iras said.
Tourists also chipped in last year, buoyed by the improving global economy. Their spending combined with that of the retail-happy local residents boosted the goods and services tax bounty by 18.6 per cent to $8.2 billion.
The casinos also enjoyed brisk business from the upturn, contributing to the $2.3 billion in betting taxes, up 32 per cent from the previous year.
Iras collected $2.8 billion in property tax in the last financial year, up 41 per cent from the year before.
This was partly because a property tax rebate of 40 per cent and a land tax deferral scheme that had been granted in the 2009 Budget were halted.
Stamp duties collected soared 37 per cent to $3.3 billion, thanks to record home sales and higher property prices. Property developers sold more than 16,000 private homes last year, despite attempts to cool the real estate market.
But even as the economy rebounded, the number of taxpayers in the million-dollar club fell.
Last year, 2,961 people reported that they had earned over $1 million in 2009.
The year before, there were 3,616 taxpayers earning taxable income of over $1 million and 3,838 in 2008.
These millionaires contributed about $1 billion in personal income tax altogether last year.
Iras noted that it has enhanced several tax policies and rolled out new initiatives over the past financial year to keep the tax regime competitive, help businesses grow and cut compliance costs for companies.
For example, it simplified and offered higher incentives under the Productivity and Innovation Credit scheme early this year. The scheme gives companies tax incentives if they invest in equipment or training that will make their operations and employees more productive.
By Yasmine Yahya
http://www.cpareviewmaterials.com/pr...images/Tax.jpg
RECORD economic growth last year also sent records tumbling in the tax office with $34.7 billion pulled in.
The bumper collection - it was up 16.3 per cent on the previous year - was thanks to the blistering 14.5 per cent expansion in gross domestic product (GDP) which sent income and spending soaring.
Corporate income tax collection swelled 11.8 per cent to $10.7 billion for the 12 months to March 31, according to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) yesterday.
Companies reported higher corporate profits, on account of better economic performance in 2010,' Iras noted in the annual report.
The executive chairman of NRA Capital, Mr Kevin Scully, noted: 'Manufacturing was especially strong last year. A lot of electronics companies recorded profit increases of over 100 per cent as the economy recovered.'
About 135,000 companies make up the corporate income tax base, with almost 99 per cent of those classified as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
While they are numerically dominant, SMEs contributed only 39.7 per cent to the total corporate income tax take last year. The rest came from big firms.
Individuals contributed income tax of $6.5 billion, up 5.9 per cent on the previous year.
The increase was mainly because a one-off personal tax rebate of 20 per cent, capped at $2,000, had been awarded in 2009, which cut into the tax take, Iras said.
Tourists also chipped in last year, buoyed by the improving global economy. Their spending combined with that of the retail-happy local residents boosted the goods and services tax bounty by 18.6 per cent to $8.2 billion.
The casinos also enjoyed brisk business from the upturn, contributing to the $2.3 billion in betting taxes, up 32 per cent from the previous year.
Iras collected $2.8 billion in property tax in the last financial year, up 41 per cent from the year before.
This was partly because a property tax rebate of 40 per cent and a land tax deferral scheme that had been granted in the 2009 Budget were halted.
Stamp duties collected soared 37 per cent to $3.3 billion, thanks to record home sales and higher property prices. Property developers sold more than 16,000 private homes last year, despite attempts to cool the real estate market.
But even as the economy rebounded, the number of taxpayers in the million-dollar club fell.
Last year, 2,961 people reported that they had earned over $1 million in 2009.
The year before, there were 3,616 taxpayers earning taxable income of over $1 million and 3,838 in 2008.
These millionaires contributed about $1 billion in personal income tax altogether last year.
Iras noted that it has enhanced several tax policies and rolled out new initiatives over the past financial year to keep the tax regime competitive, help businesses grow and cut compliance costs for companies.
For example, it simplified and offered higher incentives under the Productivity and Innovation Credit scheme early this year. The scheme gives companies tax incentives if they invest in equipment or training that will make their operations and employees more productive.
