• $68.6 billion tax revenue collected to support Singapore’s economic and social growth
• $4.6 billion enterprise grants disbursed to provide support for businesses and workers
• Most taxpayers no longer require assistance to file taxes –new AI IRAS Bot part of efforts to encourage use of self-help services  

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) collected a total of $68.6 billion in tax revenue for Financial Year (FY) 2022/23, 13.1% higher than that of FY2021/22. This increase reflected the economic recovery following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. The arrears rate for Income Tax, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Property Tax fell to 0.59% at $363.1 million – compared with 0.64% in the preceding FY.

Taxes collected are used to support Singapore’s economic and social programmes to achieve quality growth and an inclusive society. Beyond tax collection, IRAS disbursed $4.6 billion in pay-outs to support businesses and workers.

Breakdown of Tax Revenue Collection

Tax revenue collection rose across most tax types, reflecting the economic recovery following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. Of the $7.9 billion increase in collection, Corporate Income Tax (CIT) accounted for $4.9 billion on the back of buoyant corporate earnings. GST rose by $1.5 billion due to higher consumption and a rebound in international arrivals, while Individual Income Tax (IIT) increased by $1.3 billion on account of higher personal incomes. Stamp Duty collection, however, fell by $0.8 billion or 12% due to a lower volume of transactions compared to the year before.

CIT made up the largest share of IRAS’ revenue collection ($23.1 billion) at 33.7%. This is followed by IIT ($15.5 billion) at 22.6%, of which 83% came from taxpayers with annual income exceeding $150,000.

Meanwhile, GST accounted for the third largest share of IRAS’ revenue collection ($14.1 billion) at 20.5%. Stamp Duty collection accounted for 8.7% of the revenue collection at 6.0 billion, while Property Tax accounted for 7.4% of the revenue collection ($5.1 billion).

The total revenue collection represents 75.4% of the Singapore Government’s Operating Revenue and 10.7% of Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product.

$4.6 Billion in Grants Disbursed to Support Businesses and Workers

IRAS disbursed a total of $4.6 billion in grants to more than 120,000 enterprises to support local hiring and wage growth for Singaporeans. These grants come under various schemes – the major ones being the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI), Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS), Senior Employment Credit (SEC) and Small Business Recovery Grant (SBRG):

• $2.7 billion under the JGI to support over 68,000 businesses with local hiring, creating good and long-term jobs for Singaporeans;
• $1 billion under the enhanced PWCS to provide transitional wage support for over 70,000 employers, with higher Government co-funding for lower-wage workers;
• $319 million under the SEC to over 95,000 employers who hired Singaporean workers, helping them to adjust to cost increases arising from the higher retirement and re-employment ages;
• $136 million under the SBRG to provide over 41,000 eligible small businesses most impacted by the Covid-19 restrictions a one-off cash support in June 2022. This includes those in the retail, tourism and F&B industry.

Enhancing Service Delivery to Taxpayers

We introduced the enhanced mobile-friendly e-Stamping Portal in October 2022, allowing for a more convenient, intuitive stamping experience. Taxpayers can now enjoy new features on-the-go, including less form-filling and bulk stamping for collective sales.

We also launched the IRAS Virtual Intelligence Chat Assistant (VICA) Bot in February 2023 to provide a more seamless, personalised and enhanced digital experience for taxpayers. Taxpayers can now get instant answers when they use the Bot to check for outstanding tax, payment status, and filing status of Form IR21 (i.e. tax clearance). The Bot can also handle requests such as making payment, reactivating GIRO plans, and waivers of late filing fee and late payment penalty. 70% of taxpayers who have used the Bot rated it positively.

With the evolution of generative AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, IRAS is collaborating with GovTech to progressively upgrade the Bot to a new version that can better understand users’ intent and more specific queries.

As businesses can enjoy a seamless filing experience by adopting Seamless Filing from Software (SFFS), IRAS has partnered software developers to encourage more businesses to do so. We have introduced an extended filing due date for businesses using SFFS, and waiver of penalties for certain errors made. We initiated more than 30 engagement sessions with taxpayers, stakeholders and businesses.

These initiatives have led to a 12% uptick in the use of IRAS’ self-help digital services, which totalled 43 million transactions in FY2022/2023. Taxpayer contacts were also reduced to 1.3 million, 3.6% less than the preceding FY.

Strengthening Tax Compliance Through Automation, Engagement and Education

We continue to achieve good on-time tax filing and payment through engaging the public while providing a seamless taxpaying experience.

While tax compliance remains high in Singapore, IRAS continues to act against the minority of taxpayers who refuse to comply.

We audited and investigated 9,019 cases in FY2022/23, recovering about $499 million in taxes and penalties.

For more details, please refer to the IRAS Annual Report FY2022/23 and tax statistics. 

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore