The amount that employers will receive will be computed based on their employees on the CPF payroll for the month of April 2010, and the wages paid to these employees from January to March 2010.

No extension of the deadline will be allowed and employers are advised to make CPF payments on time in order to qualify for the final payment of Jobs Credit.

As the Jobs Credit scheme will cease after the final payment in June 2010, employers are encouraged to present their cheques early in order to claim for their Jobs Credit. More than $4 billion of Jobs Credit has been paid to employers in five tranches since the Jobs Credit scheme was rolled out in March 2009.

For employers with any unclaimed Jobs Credit cheques that have expired, please visit http://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/jobscredit.aspx or call 1800 356 4055 for more information.

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Together with about 61,000 taxpayers who chose to file paper returns, the filing rate this year is 88%, about the same as last year.

Tax Filing Made Easy

Tax time was a non-event this year for some 533,000 of the 653,000 taxpayers under the No-Filing Service (NFS). Only two in 10 had to file a return because they had other income or changes to make to their relief claims, and almost all did so electronically.

Most taxpayers spent between two to 10 minutes e-Filing, reflecting the simplicity of the filing process made possible by the various improvements to the income tax system over the years as well as the Auto-Inclusion Scheme where information is pre-filled by IRAS.

Currently employers with 50 or more employees are required to transmit the salary information of their employees to IRAS electronically. IRAS intends to extend this requirement to employers with 30 to 50 employees from 2011. This means another 100,000 taxpayers will join the existing one million taxpayers who are already on the scheme, and enjoy the ease of not having to provide their employment information when they file their returns next year. We can also expect more taxpayers to be included in the NFS going forward.

Tax Help At The Heartlands

To provide greater accessibility to taxpayers and to encourage them to e-File, IRAS worked with the CPF Board to provide e-Filing assistance at all CPF Service Centres during the filing period this year.  Officers were also stationed at e-Filing Service Centres at Chong Pang Community Club and Bedok Community Centre to handle e-Filing queries. In addition, more than 320 volunteers were on hand at 23 CitizenConnect Centres located island-wide to help taxpayers e-File. Close to 25,000 taxpayers filed their returns at these centres, about 30% more as compared to last year. The service will continue next year.

Penalties For Late Filing

IRAS would like to remind taxpayers who have not filed their tax returns to do so immediately. A late filing penalty of $ 1,000 may be imposed for late filing unless taxpayers have been granted an extension to do so. Taxpayers may contact IRAS officers on 1800-356 8300 or email to taxqueries@iras.gov.sg if they need any assistance.

Easy Tax Payment

Most of the taxpayers who have filed their returns can expect to receive their Notice of Assessment (NOA) by September this year.

Taxpayers are required to pay their tax in full within one month of the date of the NOA. Otherwise, a 5% penalty may be imposed for those who do not pay on time.

Taxpayers are encouraged to join GIRO to enjoy up to 12 interest-free monthly instalments. Taxpayers may sign up for GIRO through the following modes :

1. Apply online via Internet banking (for DBS/POSB and OCBC customers);
2. Apply online at any AXS stations (for DBS/POSB customers).
3. Complete a GIRO application form that can be downloaded from http://www.iras.gov.sg/;

Taxpayers who pay by GIRO will receive their instalment plan together with the NOA. They can also view their instalment plan, check out their latest tax position or request a Statement of Account at myTax Portal on the IRAS website.

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For businesses, the Productivity and Innovation Credit is introduced to provide significant tax deductions for investments in a range of six activities along with the innovation value chain – R&D done in Singapore; the registration of Intellectual Property (“IP”); acquisition of IP; investments in design done in Singapore; spending on equipment or software aimed at automating processes; and costs of training employees so as to upgrade skills and capabilities.

The Productivity and Innovation Credit is introduced to provide significant tax deductions for investments in a range of six activities along with the innovation value chain – R&D done in Singapore; the registration of Intellectual Property (“IP”); acquisition of IP; investments in design done in Singapore; spending on equipment or software aimed at automating processes; and costs of training employees so as to upgrade skills and capabilities.
It will be available for all businesses from Years of Assessment 2011 to 2015.Businesses which have at least 3 local employees (Singapore Citizens or PRs with CPF contributions) may convert the tax deductions or allowances arising from their qualifying expenditure on the six types of activities under the Credit into a non-taxable cash grant.

Visit IRAS website for more updated information regarding the Singapore Budget Tax Change 2010.

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The seminar will also be useful for existing companies that are not represented by tax agents.

This seminar covers a wide range of topics and it is strongly recommended for personnel who are involved in the preparation of corporate tax matters.

What you will learn:

1. Company’s tax obligations
   • Filing requirements
   • Basic corporate tax rules
   • Preparation of tax computation and completion of company’s Income Tax Return (Form C)
   • Statutory record keeping requirements
2. Introduction to e-Services
   • e-Services available to companies
   • How to use e-Services for your corporate tax matters
   • Q&A session

The schedule date, time and venue for these seminars will be updated at IRAS website.

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• Important GST principles
• When to charge GST
• How to avoid making mistakes in GST accounting
• How to complete the GST returns
• What records and documents to keep
• Responsibilities of a GST-registered trader
• There is also an opportunity for you to clarify your doubts during the Q&A session.

The available date and time for the seminars and the respective venue will be updated at IRAS website.

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IRAS accepts the software owner’s declarations.

For an updated list of software compliant with the requirements, please refer to IRAS’ Accounting Software Register.

If you would like to list your accounting software in IRAS’ Accounting Software Register, please refer to Information For Accounting Software Developers.

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There have been reported cases of individuals receiving emails or letters, supposedly sent by IRAS, requesting them to:

• Follow an email link to review their tax statement in relation to unreported/underreported income
• Transfer a sum of money, supposedly for tax purposes, to an account belonging to a named individual (usually to an overseas account)
• Pay over a sum of money to a named individual (usually a party not residing in Singapore) before an inheritance/estate of a deceased party is released
• Provide confidential personal information such as personal particulars, identification numbers and bank account numbers

Although these fraudulent emails or letters may bear the IRAS logo and other details such as the address or even the names of IRAS officials, they are fake and you should not reply to them.

Points To Take Note Of

Official emails from IRAS will typically be sent from addresses ending with “@iras.gov.sg”, and will not be sent from personal email accounts such as hotmail or gmail.

When payment of taxes is made by cheque, it must be made payable to one of the relevant payees below:

• Comptroller of Income Tax
• Comptroller of Goods & Services Tax
• Comptroller of Property Tax
• Commissioner of Stamp Duties
• Commissioner of Estate Duties

If you suspect you have received a fraudulent email, do not follow any links within the email, disclose any details or respond to it.

Please forward the email or documents, together with your name and contact details to iras@iras.gov.sg. IRAS will provide assistance in verifying their authenticity, and advise on the appropriate course of action.

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