SINGAPORE: New business owners unsure about their corporate tax obligations will get some help through a “start-up kit”, Senior Minister of State for Finance Indranee Rajah said on Tuesday (Mar 6).
Speaking at her ministry’s Committee of Supply debate, Ms Indranee said that with over 30,000 companies incorporated each year, some may not be familiar with their corporate tax obligations.
To help them get it right from the start, the Inland Revenue Authority Of Singapore (IRAS) is introducing a new company start-up kit.
“This interactive kit provides tailored information such as tax-filing timeline and follow-up actions, and automatically sends email notifications with reminders on filing due dates,” Ms Indranee said.
IRAS will pilot this with about 3,700 start-ups that are due to file their first tax return this year, she said.
Exempt private companies and private dormant relevant companies in 2018 will also find it easier to file annual returns with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), through a simplified process. This will potentially benefit 150,000 companies, Ms Indranee said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementUnder the simplified process, some of the information will be pre-filled and companies will just need to go through six steps to file the annual return, down from the current 24 steps.
ACRA will also be providing the simplified filing service on its mobile app, so that filing by these companies can be done anytime and anywhere.
When it is time to file, companies will be prompted by an SMS with a link to the mobile app.
MORE CONVENIENCE FOR GOVERNMENT VENDORS
From this year, all businesses that transact with the Government only need to submit their payment details once, as opposed to submitting payment details every time they transact with a different Government agency, Ms Indranee said.
They can also use the Vendors@Gov mobile app to track their payment status while on the go.
The Government, which processes an average of 2 million payments to more than 23,000 companies annually, will target to bring down the late payment rate, Ms Indranee added.
The public sector, comprising both Ministries and Statutory Boards, will target to reduce its late payment rate to below 5 per cent, from the current average of 6.5 per cent, she said.
“We understand the importance of cash flow to businesses,” she added.
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