Tax Audit and Investigation Services
Facing an Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) Tax Audit or Investigation and addressing tax issues dating back several years can be psychologically and emotionally stressful without the proper support from tax professionals. The constant questioning by the IRAS when records are scrutinised and the frequent interviews to attend during a tax investigation is never pleasant. Furthermore, the technical tax jargon used by the IRAS officers during verbal and written communication can sometimes be confusing. Are you looking for the right support? Are you in the best position to discuss and negotiate with IRAS on settling the tax issues?
BDO Singapore Tax Audit and Investigation Service Team understands how mentally draining the IRAS Tax Audit and Investigation is and aims to provide the necessary support to minimise the psychological, emotional and financial impact of the tax issues for our clients. Mr Nelson Tan leads the team with extensive experience dealing with IRAS Tax Audit and Investigation cases. Contact us now if you have received a query letter from IRAS or if your premises have been raided by IRAS.
Penalty for Tax Offences
Anyone who has been through the IRAS Tax Audit or Investigation knows that it should not be taken lightly. The penalty for evading income tax can reach a maximum of 400% of the tax undercharged, a fine of up to SGD50,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 5 years under Section 96A of the Income Tax Act. The penalty for evading goods and services tax can reach a maximum of 300% of the tax undercharged, a fine of up to SGD10,000 and/or jailed for a maximum of 7 years under Section 62(1) of the Goods and Services Tax Act.
If IRAS cannot prove your intention to evade tax, you may still be charged for negligence if there are errors without reasonable excuse in your tax submission. The penalty for such carelessness can be up to 200% of the tax undercharged, a fine of up to SGD5,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 years.
The entire tax audit or investigation journey can be less bumpy with the right support. We want to take the stress away from you so that you can continue to focus on running and growing your business.
Voluntary Disclosure Program to Rectify an Incorrect Tax Return Filing
If IRAS has not knocked on your doors and you know that your tax compliance level needs improvement, you may want to engage us to review your past tax submission for voluntary disclosure purposes. The IRAS introduces the Voluntary Disclosure Program to encourage you to rectify any incorrect tax filing before the IRAS comes after you. The penalty imposed by the IRAS under the Voluntary Disclosure Program is just a fraction of that imposed under the IRAS Tax Investigation or Audit. To qualify for the lower penalty, there are some conditions to be met. It would help if you initiated the full disclosure of tax issues/errors accurately, and it must be done before the IRAS begins any tax query, audit or investigation. You must also provide full cooperation during the disclosure and promptly pay the tax and penalty when the tax assessment is issued.
Reward for Whistle Blower
Do you know that IRAS has a whistle-blower reward program which will pay up to SGD100,000 for reliable information? Would your ex-business partners or employees be motivated by the reward and report your wrongdoing to the IRAS? In addition, what can you do if you think IRAS may investigate you in the near future? For example, suppose IRAS has yet to conduct a surprise visit on you, and you are worried that your tax numbers were misreported in the past. In that case, we can help you to rectify past tax filings via the Voluntary Disclosure Program.
Due Diligence Exercise
If you are acquiring any businesses or merging with another company, it is important that you perform a due diligence exercise on the company to be acquired or merged ("target company") for possible tax errors. It is never pleasant to inherit past tax issues and prolong the argument with the IRAS after the acquisition. We can perform the due diligence to assure you that the targeted company's tax affair is in order. If it is not in order, we can surface the tax issues early so that the target company can resolve them with IRAS before the merger or acquisition.
Contact us now for Tax Audit and Investigation Services, Tax Due Diligence exercises and Voluntary Disclosure of tax issues with IRAS.