SINGAPORE: The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has identified 166 instances of residential property purchases that used the “99-to-1” system to avoid paying the extra buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD).
Mr Chee Hong Tat, then Senior Minister of State for Finance, stated in April last year that IRAS had detected a small but increasing number of “99-to-1” arrangements in recent years as part of its surveillance efforts, prompting the authority to conduct audits of such transactions.
According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong, the IRAS has completed the review of 187 such “99-to-1” cases as of April, with 166 cases involving tax avoidance.
“About S$60 million (US$44 million) in ABSD and surcharges will accordingly be clawed back,” he stated. Mr Wong was responding to Ms He Ting Ru’s (WP-Sengkang) parliamentary question about the “99-to-1” scheme. Mr Wong added that the commissioner is also empowered to recover the rightful amount of ABSD due, along with a 50 percent surcharge.
She had asked how many referrals IRAS had made to the Council for Estate Agencies and the Law Society in the course of its investigations, if there were any findings to be shared on their results, and if the government would look to assist private property buyers who have been “misadvised” by estate agents.
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