On 3 September 2021, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) published its responses to feedback provided as part of the public consultation exercise conducted in connection with the draft Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2021, which proposed a number of amendments to the Income Tax Act (ITA). The MOF’s proposed the following four key amendments in the Amendment Bill:
- Provide the tax treatment for two situations: (a) trading stock is appropriated for non-trade or capital purposes, and (b) non-trade or capital asset becomes trading stock;
- Introducing an obligation for taxpayers to notify the IRAS in writing if a foreign tax authority decides to revise foreign taxes that would cause the foreign tax credit previously permitted in Singapore to be inflated;
- Provide persons authorized by IRAS to have access to the necessary IRAS records and/or documents for auditing the administration of public schemes; and
- Introduction of a new section 104A of the ITA to protect informers by prohibiting the disclosure of information that may lead to the discovery of their identities. The MOF has also clarified that the protection of an informer’s identity does not require the preclusion of important documents (such as fraudulent invoices) from being admitted as evidence when these are obtained after commencement of subsequent investigative actions.
