Lau Hock Chuan ("Lau"), a 32-year-old former sole-proprietor of Nanyang Academics Tuition ("NAT") that provided tuition matching services for freelance tutors and prospective students, has been found guilty in Court for Income Tax evasion. Lau had under-reported $400,087 of his sole-proprietorship income in his Income Tax returns for the Years of Assessment (YAs) 2016 and 2017, resulting in $47,200 in tax undercharged. 

Court Sentences 
Lau pleaded guilty to the two proceeded charges of making false entries with the wilful intent to evade tax in his Income Tax returns. The Court sentenced Lau to a jail term of 5 weeks and ordered him to pay a penalty of $141,600, three times the amount of income taxes evaded. 

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.

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. 

Reporting of Malpractices

Businesses or 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]

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore