IRAS on alert for attempts to escape tax using shell set-ups

Singapore

SINGAPORE'S tax authority will be on the lookout for high-income earners who set up shell companies to avoid stiffer income taxes, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Finance Josephine Teo said on Monday.

This comes as the government has moved to raise income taxes for the rich in Singapore. They would be paying up to 22 per cent on chargeable income earned from 2017 onwards.

Singapore's headline corporate tax, meanwhile, stays at 17 per cent.

The main risk with higher income taxes is that the Singapore loses its "entrepreneurial dynamism", said Mrs Teo. "Another risk is that high income earners may set up companies essentially to avoid higher personal income taxes…