SINGAPORE, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) publicized its annual report on Thursday, showing it collected 47 billion Singapore dollars (about 34.53 billion U.S. dollars) in tax revenue in Financial Year 2016/17, up 5 percent from the past financial year.
IRAS attributes the revenue collection growth to the expansion of Singapore's economy by 2 percent in 2016 and the low unemployment rate of 2.1 percent.
Cost of collection remained low at 0.84 cents for every dollar collected, the report says.
Tax compliance in Singapore remained high and tax arrears were kept low at 0.68 percent of net tax assessed, according to the report.
Among IRAS's collection, 54 percent was contributed by collection from Income Tax, including Corporate Income Tax, Individual Income Tax and Withholding Tax, which was 1.1 billion dollars more than the amount collected from Financial Year 2015/16.
Individual Income Tax increased 14 percent or 1.3 billion dollars in the Financial Year 2016/17, thanks to higher individual earnings and cessation of one-off personal rebates in 2015. Corporate Income Tax decreased marginally by 1.6 percent to 13.6 billion dollars from the previous financial year. Withholding Tax reached 1.5 billion dollars.
Goods and Services Tax collection increased to 11.1 billion dollars from 10.3 billion dollars in the previous financial year, while Property Tax collection decreased slightly by 2.1 percent to 4.4 billion dollars. Stamp Duty collection increased by 18.4 percent to 3.3 billion dollars due to a higher number of property transactions. Betting Taxes collection reached 2.7 billion dollars.
The report says that IRAS' collection accounts for 68.2 percent of the government's operating revenue. The revenue is used to support the government's objectives to build an innovative and connected economy, sustain a quality living environment and promote a caring and inclusive society.
The report adds that IRAS enhanced tax cooperation with international counterparts in the fight against tax evasion in Financial Year 2016/17, through the signing of bilateral Competent Authority Agreements that allow for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information under the Common Reporting Standard. It also implemented the Country-by-Country Reporting regime for Singapore Multinational Enterprises as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project.
