Reporting foreign-income as taxable income

[jhonsmith]

Hi all,

I'm a Singapore PR .
For the last 2 years, I have been out from Singapore, travelling, get married, and making money elsewhere ( not working for an Sg-based company )

I'd like to return to Singapore again this year, to settle and bring my family with me.

As I don't pay any tax the last 2 years, I'm afraid that would be difficult to apply PR for my wife, and to extend my REP ( which will expire 2013 ).

My question :

Is it a crime if I report my income overseas, as Singapore income, so I become taxable resident ?

Thanks in advance,

[sundaymorningstaple]

Sorry but it won't wash. In order to submit your salary for tax purposes, it is also subject to CPF contributions (both your's & the Company's portion). There is also a line on the tax return where your contributions to CPF have to be entered. These have to jive with the CPF board and must be submitted monthly and timely.

Also, the salary would have to be from a Singapore registered business/company and the IR8a would have to show this.

Sounds like another PR abuser has been caught out to me.....

[JR8]

Are you nuts?

Report your foreign earnings abroad as earned in Singapore. Where is the SG tax and CPF contributions? Who was the SGn employer?

[jhonsmith]

Thanks SMS for your answer,

Ok, so if I want to come back and settle in Sg, what are my options ?

[sundaymorningstaple]

If you come back before your REP expires, get a job, and work for a year you could attempt to renew the REP. You might be given a 1 year REP instead of 5 years. Or, they might not renew it at all, or they may give you 5 years! However, if you have a job, all is not lost as you can stay in Singapore without the REP. This means you cannot leave Singapore even to go to JB or Batam as doing so, after the REP has expired, will mean you have given up your PR. You do NOT need an REP to remain a PR but you cannot leave the country unless you have an REP. If that happens, it will depend on how bad you want the PR as you could continue to work here and pay taxes and once you have three years worth of tax assessments, reapply for the 5 year REP again. Still no guarantees though. But you gambled on abusing the PR status originally, now you have to gamble to keep it.

[SingaporeDon]

My question :
Is it a crime if I report my income overseas, as Singapore income, so I become taxable resident ?

Certain types of foreign source income remitted to Singapore becomes taxable in the hands of Singapore tax residents. So if you remit such income into Singapore, you can include it in your Singapore tax return and pay tax on it.

Whether that will be enough to help you with the PR renewal application is a different question which I leave it to the seniors in this forum to address.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Unfortunately I believe that would fall under the GIP plan or FIP which has just been abolished. But, if a long term PR and also over the age of 55, then the REP can be renewed without any problems if you got your PR under the FT and not PTS scheme. If you PR was given to you under the PTS scheme, you better have earned income to show on your tax return, else, you don't qualify for the PTS scheme and the REP should not be renewed.

[JR8]

Certain types of foreign source income remitted to Singapore becomes taxable in the hands of Singapore tax residents.

But he wasn't tax resident.

[sundaymorningstaple]

My whole point. If he had earned income on his IR8A tax assessment, there would have to be a corresponding ROC/ROB registration number and the earned income would also have the corresponding CPF contributions which would jive with the monthly amounts contributed to CPF.