Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is essentially the main tax collector for the Singaporean government. This role was previously carried out by the Singapore Income Tax Department and the Inland Revenue Department.

If you’d like to know more, their website is http://www.iras.gov.sg.

A bit of history about the IRAS. Its origins can be traced back to 1947 when the Singapore Income Tax Department was established to oversee the Income Tax Ordinance. In 1960, post self-governance in 1959, the Inland Revenue Department was created. After Singapore emerged as an independent nation on August 9, 1965, amendments to the Income Tax Act were introduced on January 1, 1966.

On September 1, 1992, under the Ministry of Finance, the IRAS was officially established as a statutory board. The IRAS Act was passed to formalize this, which allowed the IRAS to take over responsibilities previously held by the Inland Revenue Department.

Why this move? The transformation aimed to give the IRAS more independence and adaptability, especially when it came to managing their personnel and finances.

The types of taxes gathered by the IRAS on behalf of the government include income tax, goods and services tax (GST), property tax, estate duty, duties from betting and sweepstakes, stamp duties, and casino taxes. Under section 10 (1) (a) of the Income Tax Act 1947, the IRAS also taxes income or profits earned from blogging.

On the other hand, there are several taxes the IRAS does not collect in Singapore:

  • Taxes related to vehicles (handled by the Land Transport Authority)
  • Custom and excise duties (managed by Singapore Customs)
  • The foreign workers’ levy (collected by the Ministry of Manpower)
  • Charges for water conservation (overseen by the Public Utilities Board)