Accounting Software Assistance Scheme

Deadline For Employers To Benefit From Final Payment Of Jobs Credit

Editor — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:09:34 +0000

IRAS and the Ministry of Finance is sending out reminders to employers to make CPF contributions for their employees by May 14th 2010 for April contribution.

The amount that employers will receive will be computed based on their employees on the CPF payroll for the month of April 2010, and the wages paid to these employees from January to March 2010.

No extension of the deadline will be allowed and employers are advised to make CPF payments on time in order to qualify for the final payment of Jobs Credit.

As the Jobs Credit scheme will cease after the final payment in June 2010, employers are encouraged to present their cheques early in order to claim for their Jobs Credit. More than $4 billion of Jobs Credit has been paid to employers in five tranches since the Jobs Credit scheme was rolled out in March 2009.

For employers with any unclaimed Jobs Credit cheques that have expired, please visit http://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/jobscredit.aspx or call 1800 356 4055 for more information.

Singapore Tax e-Filing Rate Hits A Record High

Editor — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 02:53:42 +0000

At the close of the e-Filing deadline of 18 Apr 2010, about 890,000 taxpayers e-Filed their tax returns, setting a record high of 94% e-Filing rate. This is an increase of 3% as compared to last year’s 91%.

Together with about 61,000 taxpayers who chose to file paper returns, the filing rate this year is 88%, about the same as last year.

Tax Filing Made Easy

Tax time was a non-event this year for some 533,000 of the 653,000 taxpayers under the No-Filing Service (NFS). Only two in 10 had to file a return because they had other income or changes to make to their relief claims, and almost all did so electronically.

Most taxpayers spent between two to 10 minutes e-Filing, reflecting the simplicity of the filing process made possible by the various improvements to the income tax system over the years as well as the Auto-Inclusion Scheme where information is pre-filled by IRAS.

Currently employers with 50 or more employees are required to transmit the salary information of their employees to IRAS electronically. IRAS intends to extend this requirement to employers with 30 to 50 employees from 2011. This means another 100,000 taxpayers will join the existing one million taxpayers who are already on the scheme, and enjoy the ease of not having to provide their employment information when they file their returns next year. We can also expect more taxpayers to be included in the NFS going forward.

Tax Help At The Heartlands

To provide greater accessibility to taxpayers and to encourage them to e-File, IRAS worked with the CPF Board to provide e-Filing assistance at all CPF Service Centres during the filing period this year. Officers were also stationed at e-Filing Service Centres at Chong Pang Community Club and Bedok Community Centre to handle e-Filing queries. In addition, more than 320 volunteers were on hand at 23 CitizenConnect Centres located island-wide to help taxpayers e-File. Close to 25,000 taxpayers filed their returns at these centres, about 30% more as compared to last year. The service will continue next year.

Penalties For Late Filing

IRAS would like to remind taxpayers who have not filed their tax returns to do so immediately. A late filing penalty of $ 1,000 may be imposed for late filing unless taxpayers have been granted an extension to do so. Taxpayers may contact IRAS officers on 1800-356 8300 or email to taxqueries@iras.gov.sg if they need any assistance.

Easy Tax Payment

Most of the taxpayers who have filed their returns can expect to receive their Notice of Assessment (NOA) by September this year.

Taxpayers are required to pay their tax in full within one month of the date of the NOA. Otherwise, a 5% penalty may be imposed for those who do not pay on time.

Taxpayers are encouraged to join GIRO to enjoy up to 12 interest-free monthly instalments. Taxpayers may sign up for GIRO through the following modes :

Apply online via Internet banking (for DBS/POSB and OCBC customers);
Apply online at any AXS stations (for DBS/POSB customers).
Complete a GIRO application form that can be downloaded from http://www.iras.gov.sg/;

Taxpayers who pay by GIRO will receive their instalment plan together with the NOA. They can also view their instalment plan, check out their latest tax position or request a Statement of Account at myTax Portal on the IRAS website.

Additional S$2 Million For The Business For Families Grant

Editor — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 06:36:51 +0000

Great news for any businesses that wish to apply for the Business For Families Grant, a funding for businesses that wish to put in place measures to welcome families as customers.

The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports has set aside another S$2 million for the Business For Families Grant, where these additional funds would be useful for businesses that wish to attract families.

“It signals the Government’s ongoing committment to help businesses create a pro-family environment for Singapore and reaffirms the Government’s goal in making Singapore the best place for families and children,” said Mrs Mildred Tan, Co-chair of Business For Families Council (BFC).

Businesses can apply for funding support to help defray costs incurred in infrastructure, traning and business consultancy to make their business more family-friendly. Since introduced in 2007, 30 buinesses have received funding support under the grant.

This scheme was actually enhanced in January 2010 to allow firms to claim up to 70% instead of 50%, of the costs incurred in adopting family-friendly measures for customers.

For more information regarding the grant, please visit Business for Families Grant website.

Decommissioning Of Commercial e-Services And Lifestyle Content On MyeCitizen Portal

Editor — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 09:40:44 +0000

Over the past four years, MyeCitizen portal has provided a host of eServices such as Moving House, Personal Job Finder, SMS and Email Alerts and Travel Buddy, as well as lifestyle content for more than 160,000 members.

Recently after a review of these services, NCS Portal City decided to decommission the following commercial e-Services on MyeCitizen Portal by early – mid Apr 2010:-

Moving House
Personal Job Finder
Travel Buddy
MeSH
Talking Point and
MyeCit community

A spokesman from NCS Portal City stated “We decide to focus our efforts on the SMS and Email alerts and reminder services from the government agencies, in view of high take-up rate. These services will remain on the MyeCitizen Portal to continue to serve its members…”

If you have yet to register for these free services, you may do so at http://www.myecitizen.sg. Examples of these services include:-

Alert on TV Licence (Household) before payment due date
road tax renewal reminder and
details of your CPF contribution.

For the full list of alert and reminder services available, register with MyeCitizen and select Update My Alerts.

Advisory On Scam And Fraudulent Activities

Singapore Budget Seminar 2010 by Tax Academy of Singapore

Editor — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:59:38 +0000

Tax Academy of Singapore will host a Budget Seminar for the tax community on 22 March 2010.

At the seminar, you’ll get to learn more about Singapore’s new economic strategies, and the measures in Budget 2010 that will put Singapore on a long-term growth path.

The panel discussion will be facilitated by Mr Donald Low, Head, Centre for Public Economics, Civil Service College. With expert commentators comprising Dr Tan Khee Giap, Associate Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS and Mr See Jee Chang, Director of Taxes (Corporate), Deloitte & Touche LLP, the panel will offer insights into the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC)’s recommendations.

Miss Cheong Swee Ying, Tax Consultant to Allen & Gledhill LLP will chair a panel of policy and tax experts from the Ministry of Finance and IRAS to give you insights and implications of the major tax changes announced in Budget 2010.

Fee per person: $139.10 (incl. GST)
Closing Date for Registration: 11 Mar 2010 (Thursday)

For more seminar and registration details, please visit http://www.taxacademy.sg/seminarswork.htm.

Singapore Budget Tax Change 2010

Editor — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:53:15 +0000

Tax changes were announced by Minister for Finance, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam in his Budget Speech for the Financial Year 2010 which was delivered in Parliament on Monday, 22 February 2010.

For businesses, the Productivity and Innovation Credit is introduced to provide significant tax deductions for investments in a range of six activities along with the innovation value chain – R&D done in Singapore; the registration of Intellectual Property (“IP”); acquisition of IP; investments in design done in Singapore; spending on equipment or software aimed at automating processes; and costs of training employees so as to upgrade skills and capabilities.

It will be available for all businesses from Years of Assessment 2011 to 2015.

Businesses which have at least 3 local employees (Singapore Citizens or PRs with CPF contributions) may convert the tax deductions or allowances arising from their qualifying expenditure on the six types of activities under the Credit into a non-taxable cash grant.

The Productivity and Innovation Credit is introduced to provide significant tax deductions for investments in a range of six activities along with the innovation value chain – R&D done in Singapore; the registration of Intellectual Property (“IP”); acquisition of IP; investments in design done in Singapore; spending on equipment or software aimed at automating processes; and costs of training employees so as to upgrade skills and capabilities.
It will be available for all businesses from Years of Assessment 2011 to 2015.Businesses which have at least 3 local employees (Singapore Citizens or PRs with CPF contributions) may convert the tax deductions or allowances arising from their qualifying expenditure on the six types of activities under the Credit into a non-taxable cash grant.

Visit IRAS website for more updated information regarding the Singapore Budget Tax Change 2010.

Is ASAS A Continuation of GST Assistance Scheme?

Pacific LANWorks Pte Ltd — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:56:58 +0000

The roll-up of the GST Assistance Scheme (GSTAS) that was implemented from March 1st 2007 to March 31st 2009 was not only successful and widely accepted by merchants of all sizes, the benefits to these merchants were also paramount and the applications for the scheme was overwhelming, so much so that Spring Singapore (the official sponsor for the GST Assistance Scheme) has extended its due date from March 31st to June 30th 2009!

For those not familiar with the GST Assistance Scheme (GSTAS), it was a Singapore government grant set up by Spring Singapore, catering to the needs of Singapore-based businesses which have opted for voluntary GST registration with IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore) and wish to set up or improve their accounting system and processes to be GST-compliant. It was a two-year assistance scheme and it had expired since June 30th, 2009.

As for Accounting Software Assistance Scheme (ASAS), it was started since July 1st, 2009 and expected to expire by March 31st, 2012. This scheme is to encourage businesses to implement accounting software and it is done by helping to defray the cost of purchasing and setting up of the accounting software, as well as training on the use of the software.

Although the ASAS seems to be a direct continuation of the GST Assistance Scheme, especially since it started immediately on the next day of the expiry of the later, both the schemes have their differences and we hope we can shed some light to them, especially since we have many businesses asking us about the differences and their similarity and whether they can apply for the Accounting Software Assistance Scheme after their successful application for the GST Assistance Scheme.

Let’s talk about their similarity first;

both schemes are part of the Singapore government grant with the intention of helping small businesses
both schemes are valid for sole proprietor, partnership and private limited companies
both schemes require the businesses to be GST-registered
both schemes are for helping to defray cost of purchasing accounting software
both schemes allow businesses to apply either on their own or preferably through a third-party consultant

As for the differences between GSTAS and ASAS, they are;

GSTAS was set up by Spring Singapore whilst ASAS was setup by the partnership of IRAS and iDA.
you can only apply for the GSTAS when you are a freshly-registered GST merchant (within 3 months of application to be GST-registered), while for ASAS, as long as you are a GST-registered merchant, you can apply for this assistance scheme.
The SME MUST be a voluntary GST registrant and is applying for GST registration for the first time if you are applying for GSTAS, but for ASAS, it is available for those voluntary GST registrant or compulsory registrant.
GSTAS can be used to purchase for new accounting software or upgrade current accounting software while ASAS can ONLY be used for first-time accounting software user or those who used spreadsheet software for their accounting functions. If you are currently using or have used any accounting software for your GST reports to IRAS, no matter how new or old your software is, you are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply for ASAS.
GSTAS supports up to 100% of the accounting software cost and 50% of the qualifying costs for the following cost items, subject to a maximum grant of $5,000 per company:
- Professional fees and training costs charged by third party IT consultants;
- Hardware costs; and
- Subscription fees and one time activation charges for a new internet connection
As for the ASAS, it is only for the cost of the accounting software and for the software deployment and training costs, subject to a maximum grant of S$1,500 per business. As the subsidy for ASAS is very minimal and restrictive, you are therefore adviced to approach our independent consultant to apply for the grant in order to reach its maximum cap.
For GSTAS, you can use the grant to purchase any accounting software you see fit, but for ASAS, you can only purchase those accounting software that are listed in the IRAS Accounting Software Register.

As you can see from the similarity and differences between the GSTAS and ASAS, both schemes actually caters for different groups of businesses and not just a continuation of one scheme to another.

Just a final note, if you have previously applied successfully for the GST Assistance Scheme (GSTAS), you are not allowed to apply for the Accounting Software Assistance Scheme (ASAS) because one of its criteria is you must never use any accounting software before.

Corporate Tax Seminars For Companies By IRAS

Editor — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:44:54 +0000

Newly incorporated companies are encouraged to attend the seminar to find out more about companies’ tax obligations and basic corporate tax rules. IRAS will also guide you through the use of EASY and the other e-Services for corporate tax matters.

The seminar will also be useful for existing companies that are not represented by tax agents.

This seminar covers a wide range of topics and it is strongly recommended for personnel who are involved in the preparation of corporate tax matters.

What you will learn:

Company’s tax obligations
- Filing requirements
- Basic corporate tax rules
- Preparation of tax computation and completion of company’s Income Tax Return (Form C)
- Statutory record keeping requirements
Introduction to e-Services
- e-Services available to companies
- How to use e-Services for your corporate tax matters
- Q&A session

The schedule date, time and venue for these seminars will be updated at IRAS website.

Seminars For Newly GST-Registered Businesses

Editor — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:27:25 +0000

Newly GST-registered businesses are encouraged to attend one of IRAS GST seminars (known as “Introduction to GST’) to find out more about how GST will impact their trade. Existing GST-registered businesses who wish to refresh their basic GST knowledge may also attend this seminar. This GST seminar offers a comprehensive range of topics and is strongly recommended for personnel who are involved in the preparation of GST accounts and returns. These are the highlights of the GST seminar:

Important GST principles
When to charge GST
How to avoid making mistakes in GST accounting
How to complete the GST returns
What records and documents to keep
Responsibilities of a GST-registered trader
There is also an opportunity for you to clarify your doubts during the Q&A session.

The available date and time for the seminars and the respective venue will be updated at IRAS website.

IRAS Accounting Software Register

Pacific LANWorks Pte Ltd — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:31:54 +0000

The IRAS Accounting Software Register contains a list of software where their owners have provided written declarations to IRAS that their software is compliant with the requirements set out in the e-Tax Guide: Guide on Accounting Software For Software Developers.

IRAS accepts the software owner’s declarations.

For an updated list of software compliant with the requirements, please refer to IRAS’ Accounting Software Register.

If you would like to list your accounting software in IRAS’ Accounting Software Register, please refer to Information For Accounting Software Developers.