• $60.7b Tax Revenue Collected for Nation-Building
• 98% Taxpayer Satisfaction Rate with Seamless Services & Proactive Engagements
• $8.2b Enterprise Grants Disbursed for Covid-19 Support

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) collected a total of $60.7 billion in tax revenue for Financial Year (FY) 2021/22, 22.4% higher than that in FY2020/21. The increase was on the back of a lower base in FY2020/21 due to the pandemic, when IRAS’s collection fell by 7.3%. Over a longer 5-year period, tax revenue collection, which is used to support Singapore’s economic and social programmes, grew by an average of 4.8% on a compounded annual basis.

The recovery in FY2021/22 revenue collection was seen across all tax types as the economy rebounded following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Arrears rate for Income Tax, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Property Tax fell to 0.64% at $332.8 million for the year, compared with 0.72% in FY2020/21.

Taxes for Nation-Building – Facts and Figures

IRAS’ collection of $60.7 billion in FY2021/22 represents 73.6% of the Government Operating Revenue and 11.4% of Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product. Corporate Income Tax ($18.2 billion) accounted for the largest share of IRAS’ collection at 30%. This is followed by Individual Income Tax ($14.2 billion), about 80% of which came from taxpayers with annual income above $150,000. GST collection was $12.6 billion, and Stamp Duty totalled $6.8 billion.

Of the increase of $11.1 billion in tax collection in FY2021/22 as compared to FY2020/21, Stamp Duty (+ $2.9 billion) accounted for the largest share due to the buoyant property market and an increase in property transactions. This is followed by GST (+ $2.3 billion) due to higher consumption as Covid-19 restrictions were eased and the economy rebounded. The increase in Corporate Income Tax (+ $2.1 billion) and Individual Income Tax (+ $1.4 billion) reflected stronger earnings as well as the deferment of tax payments in FY2020/21 to help businesses cope with the impact of Covid-19.

Please refer to Annex A for the 5-year trend of revenue collection by tax type.

98% Taxpayer Satisfaction Rate with Seamless Services & Proactive Engagements

With our efforts to provide seamless taxpayer services and to proactively engage the tax community, IRAS continued to achieve a high taxpayer satisfaction rate of 98% in the 2021 Taxpayer Survey.

Our digital services have been enhanced to enable taxpayers to self-help and transact conveniently with IRAS. This has significantly reduced the number of taxpayers requiring assisted services. From FY2020/21 to FY2021/22, taxpayer contacts decreased by 22.7% to 1.4 million, while self-help transactions increased by 8% to 38.9 million.

In FY2021/22, IRAS initiated over 160 engagement sessions with taxpayers and stakeholders, including with the Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals (SCTP) and trade associations. The community feedback gathered was used to improve the design and administration of rules, and to develop taxpayer-centric solutions. For example, several rounds of user-testing and interviews were conducted to ensure the redesigned IRAS website provided an intuitive and user-friendly experience.

Achieving High Tax Compliance

Tax compliance remained high in Singapore. For the FY, we rolled out two tax frameworks which were co-designed with SCTP, Big 4 accounting firms and several large companies to help companies strengthen tax compliance. The Tax Governance Framework seeks to enhance tax governance in a company by elevating it to the Board level. The Tax Risk Management and Control Framework for Corporate Income Tax guides large companies in establishing robust internal controls and processes to identify, mitigate and monitor key Corporate Income Tax risks.

IRAS is also exploring ways to improve taxpayers’ audit experience through greater transparency of our audit process. In FY2021/22, close to 80 taxpayers participated in our Pre-Audit Taxpayer Engagement pilot programme. The programme aimed to provide greater clarity on audit objectives and address taxpayers’ concerns over the audit process early. Through the engagement, IRAS auditors were also able to gain a better understanding of taxpayers’ business operations, speeding up audit case completion.

We continued to take firm actions against the minority of errant taxpayers. In FY2021/22, we audited and investigated 8,665 cases and recovered $385 million in taxes and penalties.

Supporting Businesses and Individuals During Covid-19

Beyond tax collection, IRAS continued to disburse enterprise grants on behalf of Government to support businesses, jobs and wage growth for Singaporeans. In FY2021/22, IRAS disbursed a total of $8.2 billion under various schemes ¹ including the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS), Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) and Rental Support Scheme (RSS):

• $840 million in WCS payouts to more than 99,000 employers on qualifying wage increases.
• $3.1 billion in payouts to over 130,000 businesses under the JSS.
• $2 billion in JGI payouts to over 74,100 employers.
• $1.1 billion in payouts under the RSS to over 140,000 eligible tenants and owner-occupiers.

“IRAS celebrates its 30^th year as a statutory board this year. It has come a long way to become a trusted partner of taxpayers in nation-building, with an efficient system of tax collection, seamless and convenient taxpayer services, as well as a high level of tax compliance. We will continue our transformation to be the leading tax revenue authority in the world, partnering the community, and contributing to nation building and inclusive growth.” said Mr Ng Wai Choong, Commissioner of Inland Revenue/Chief Executive Officer.

For more information, please refer to the IRAS Annual Report FY2021/22 and tax statistics.

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore 

¹ Other disbursements included the Special Employment Credit Scheme, Enabling Employment Credit Scheme, SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit and Foreign Worker Levy rebate.