In a festive closure to the year’s celebratory activities and fund-raising efforts, President Tony Tan Keng Yam graced IRAS’ 20th Anniversary celebrations held this afternoon at Revenue House and received a cheque of $533,818.39 for the President’s Challenge 2012 from Mr Moses Lee (李金富), Commissioner of Inland Revenue.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) celebrates its 20th Anniversary as a statutory board on 1 September 2012. To mark this occasion, IRAS has engaged members of the public, stakeholders and staff in a series of activities to reflect on and reminisce about how tax administration in Singapore has evolved over the past two decades. As part of the celebrations, IRAS staff have also raised a record half a million dollars for President’s Challenge 2012.

More Than $500,000 Raised in Total

The Inland Revenue Recreation Club (IRRC; 国内税务局员工俱乐部), IRAS’ staff recreation club, launched ‘A Million Coins for the Nation’ fund-raising effort this year, a rallying call among staff to raise funds for President’s Challenge 2012. To meet this goal, staff rallied their colleagues, families and friends to support this worthy cause, dipping into their savings and organising various fundraising activities to contribute to charity.

To support staff’s fund-raising efforts, IRAS also released for the first and the last time, a selected number of decommissioned revenue stamps for sale, giving members of the public and stamp collectors the rare opportunity to own a piece of stamp duty history, while contributing towards President’s Challenge 2012.

Setting a New Singapore Record!

During IRAS’ 20th Anniversary celebrations held this afternoon, President Tony Tan Keng Yam capped the fundraising efforts by pouring a box full of coins to fill the ‘A Million Coins for the Nation’ structure to the brim. Measuring 1.64 m by 0.41 m by 1.02 m, this imposing structure installed at the first floor of Revenue House had housed the coins that staff had painstakingly collected for President’s Challenge 2012. The structure also sets a new record for the “Largest Box of Coins” in the Singapore Book of Records. ^[1]

Through the various fund-raising activities held over the past eight months, the IRRC raised $533,818.39. This amount is more than double of that raised in 2011, and the highest-ever amount in IRAS’ 10 years of participation in the President’s Challenge. ^[2] This record-breaking feat was made possible through the collaborative effort of staff, the IRAS Board, the Taxpayer Feedback Panel, as well as generous corporate partners.

Engaging our Youth, Our Future Taxpayers

As part of our anniversary celebrations this year, IRAS experimented with a new way of engaging the public on taxpaying and tax administration. For the very first time, IRAS organised an Interschool Online Game Design Competition, to encourage youths to design innovative and informative games on taxes. The games were also a platform through which IRAS could reach out to the next generation of taxpayers and share with them what taxes in Singapore are about in a fun and engaging manner.

The competition was well-received by students from tertiary education institutes and junior colleges, and attracted a total of 7 teams from 5 schools to participate. The student-designed interactive tax games were hosted on IRAS’ 20th Anniversary micro-site. Members of the public, especially youths, were encouraged to play and vote for their favourite games. The intense competition amongst the various teams saw the Singapore Polytechnic team emerging victorious, bringing home the top prize of $5,000. The winning teams received their prizes at today’s finale celebrations from Mr Moses Lee, Commissioner of Inland Revenue.

Sculpture Designed by Students from the School of the Arts – Waves of Excellence

When planning our celebratory events this year, IRAS had decided right from the start that we did not want to confine the celebrations to staff alone. We wanted to explore various ways to engage the wider community, especially the youths.

In line with this approach, we partnered the School of the Arts (SOTA). Students of SOTA were taken on a tour of the IRAS Gallery, the first heritage exhibition on Singapore’s tax history, and issued a challenge: to design a sculpture that represents IRAS’ journey as a statutory board.

16-year-old Rebecca Lee Mei Hui (李美慧) conceptualised the winning design, ‘Waves of Excellence’, and worked with her classmates to fabricate the sculpture. In designing the sculpture, the young talent had envisioned an end product that epitomises IRAS’ journey of excellence as a tax administration, and celebrates the passion and commitment of IRAS staff. For more information on the sculpture and the creative brains behind it, please refer to Appendix 4.

“Even as we celebrate this significant milestone in our journey, we are now gearing up for the next 20 years. With the continued support of our Board, staff and stakeholders, I am confident that IRAS will continue to overcome future challenges and climb new peaks of excellence.” - Mr Moses Lee, Commissioner of Inland Revenue

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore

^[1] Appendix 1: Information on the new Singapore Record (PDF, 58KB).
^[2] Appendix 2: Information on IRRC’s past contributions to President’s Challenge (PDF, 104KB)
^[3] Appendix 3: Details on the Interschool Online Games Competition (PDF, 80KB)
^[4] Appendix 4: Details on the sculpture (PDF, 66KB)

Speech by Mr Moses Lee, Commissioner of Inland Revenue (PDF, 73KB)