No SGD income with e-pass

[chilisauce101]

Hi all,

I am a Canadian citizen with an employment pass in Singapore. I recently moved to Singapore for work in 2021 February. My employer is a Canadian company and I am currently on a Canadian payroll, getting paid in CAD after withholding tax. Currently, my Canadian employer setup a shadow profile for me in Singapore under my company's regional subsidiary with 0 SGD income.

For this situation, I am wondering if I still need to pay income tax in Singapore. If so, how is my tax calculated in Singapore? I have 0 earned income in SGD. This situation is very confusing to me but my company says they can't provide any advice as they don't know what they are doing.

I'd appreciate any thoughts!

[smoulder]

Are you paying taxes in Canada?
Does your company have a presence in Singapore?

Out of curiosity, how do they apply for an EP for you if they declared a $0 salary to the MOM? Something doesn't sound right about this.,

Edit - I realized that the first 2 questions are answered. I'm still confused about the 3rd one though. I used to work for an Indian company that used to at a point in time pay me partially in India and the majority of my salary in Singapore. I used to pay taxes on the Singapore part of my salary. I'm guessing that this kind of situation is allowed only because of some conditions in the intra corporate transfer policy. That's the only explanation I can think of wherein the Singapore government would allow it to happen. Either that or someone just messed up.

[Myasis Dragon]

It doesn't matter where your income is sourced from. It doesn't matter what bank it is paid into. It doesn't matter what currency it is paid in. If you live in Singapore, you are tax resident for Singapore taxes and all money you received is considered earned income in Singapore, and it is all taxable by the Singapore authorities.

The Singapore subsidiary needs to fill out an IR8A, income earned, for you, converted Candian $$$ to the Singapore equivalent.

Edited to add: You have stated that you are working for the "company's regional subsidiary". This should be a business entity registered in Singapore. This Singapore registered company is responsible for obtaining your EP, and this company is responsible for paying you to meet the salary terms of your EP. You cannot be earning "0 SGD income" or you would be violating the terms of your EP.

I don't know what you mean by "setup a shadow profile for me". If you have an EP, you are working for a Singapore company, at the wages specified by your EP application.

You have an EP. You live in Singapore. You are tax resident in Singapore. You pay income tax on all the money that has been paid to you. Where it came from is irrelevant.

[musical box]

You cannot be earning "0 SGD income" or you would be violating the terms of your EP.

what if year end salary return to IRS was factually 80% of the agreed/projected/anticipated salary? Would this be violating the terms of your EP? Conversely if it was 120%.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Yes it would violate the terms of the EP. Year end bonuses are not taken into consideration at all. But you Monthly Basic Salary is what is crucial, Without a qualifying basic monthly salary you cannot get an Employment Pass. Full Stop.

[chilisauce101]

Thank you for replies. I ended up seeking a professional consultancy and was told the same thing. It looks like someone messed up in my company. I spoke with my company and am in a process of fixing this. Cheers all!

[PNGMK]

It's not uncommon but completely unlawful for MNC employers to split income and report the splits as 100% of income in each tax jurisdiction separately.

For example my ex boss was paid in MY and SG. His IR8A only showed his SGD part and his MY equivalent only showed the MY part. It's bullshit but they do it, even the more reputable employers. I don't understand the logic they use to justify it.