President, Chairman and Board members of IRAS, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my honour and pleasure to welcome you to this milestone in our tax history - the launch of the first taxation book, “The Law and Practice of Singapore Income Tax” written by our tax community, for the tax community. It is a greater honour for me to welcome President S R Nathan and express our deepest appreciation to him for gracing the launch of this book.

As the tax authority, IRAS has embarked on many collaborations with the tax community to upgrade the standards of tax professionals and practice in Singapore. We recognized the value of this authoritative and comprehensive book on aspects of Singapore taxation to the professional development of tax practitioners and gave our full support and encouragement to the editors and authors for this initiative. The 39 authors and editors from the accounting, auditing and legal fields as well as IRAS and the academia on their part have responded admirably by contributing their vast wealth of knowledge and expertise to make this book a reality.

I would like to acknowledge the generosity of the authors and editors for assigning the copyrights of the book to the Tax Academy. It is a non-profit institution, jointly set up by IRAS with the Big 4 international accounting firms, the Law Society and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore or ICPAS to raise the professional competency of the tax community. The Tax Academy is honoured to be the guardian of this legacy for the present and future members of the tax community.

Now let me take this opportunity to thank all those who have made this book possible. First, to Pok Soy Yoong for his foresight and boldness in mooting the idea to IRAS two years ago. Special thanks to Keat Seng, Steven Timms and Pok himself, for their role as technical editors in ensuring the consistency and flow of the works of different authors, and in keeping everyone to a tight timeline. I know it was not an easy task. My heartfelt thanks to all the authors for sacrificing your precious time and taking on this onerous project to share your knowledge and expertise, in spite of your hectic work schedule. To our publisher, LexisNexis, thank you for believing in the viability of this book. And last, but not least, to the supporting editors, bosses and colleagues of the authors and editors who have worked quietly behind the scene, we are indeed grateful for your support in making this happen. All present and future generations of tax practitioners owe you a debt of gratitude.

On this special occasion, we have not forgotten the less fortunate in our society. The Inland Revenue Recreation Club has taken the opportunity to rally the tax community to raise funds for the President’s Challenge. Mr President, I am happy to inform you that the tax community, IRAS staff and working partners have reached deep and contributed a grand total of more than $250,000 for the President’s Challenge.

On behalf of the beneficiaries of the President’s Challenge, and the IRRC, I would like to acknowledge the generosity of our donors, many of whom are here for this launch. As a token of appreciation, President will be presenting a copy of the book autographed by him to every donor who contributes $10,000 or more. Thanks also to our publisher LexisNexis for sponsoring copies of the book for the donors.

In conclusion, let me once again thank everyone for your contributions to this book, donations to the President’s Challenge and presence for the launch. On behalf of IRAS and all present, I would like President S R Nathan to know how happy we are that he can join us on this joyous occasion. Thank you.

Factsheet - Taxation book launch and Fund Raising Activities for President's Challenge 2011.pdf (PDF, 55KB)

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore