Singapore Government Objectives in Setting Tax Policies

Question

Examine the data tabulation titled “Tax Collection” from IRAS and Department of Statistics, Singapore, download and study the article titled “Roadmap Laid Out for Tax Reform” from Bangkok Post Business dated 3 November 2015, and answer the following questions: 

(a) Identify the three (3) largest types of tax contributors to Singapore’s total tax revenue collection and compute their combined percentage contribution to Singapore’s total tax revenue collection from FY2010/11 to FY2014/15.

(b) Identify Singapore government’s five (5) main objectives in setting tax policies.

(c) Discuss how your results from (a) may imply that one (1) of the Singapore government’s main objectives in setting tax policies is far from being achieved.

(d) Identify three (3) types of taxes, which have never been imposed in Singapore but imposed in other countries, which can achieve the tax objective discussed in (c) and the other tax objectives identified in (b), and explain how they may do so.

(e) Identify the three (3) objectives of Thailand’s tax reform as reported in Bangkok Post Business.

(f) Discuss, with reference to the “nine tasks, targets and missions” as stated by Thailand’s Finance Ministry, how the role of taxation in Singapore is similar to that of Thailand.

(g) Compute Singapore’s tax revenue to GDP ratios from FY2010 to FY2014. Discuss, briefly, drawing inferences from the Bangkok Post Business article, the main probable reason for the significant difference between Singapore’s and Thailand’s tax revenue to GDP ratios.

Summary

This question belongs to taxation and discusses about different type of tax contributors to Singapore’s total tax revenue collection

Word count: 1420