An insurance agent in Singapore has been fined by authorities for under-reporting her income and evading over SG$631,000 in taxes.
Chew Wai Ling, 56, was fined SG$663,008 by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) for failing to report personal income of nearly SG$2 million for the years 2009 and 2010, Channel News Asia reported.
According to court documents, Chew had omitted SG$1,955,232 of the commissions she had received as an insurance agent, the report said. She also faces one charge of failing to register for Goods and Services Tax (GST).
IRAS investigations showed that Chew exceeded SG$1 million in annual taxable income in 2007. However, she did not register for GST until 2015. This meant that she did not pay GST from 2008 to 2010, which amounted to SG$320,411.62. For failing to register for GST, Chew was fined SG$3,000 plus a penalty of SG$32,041.
The report said that the IRAS discovered the offences through its regular audit, which uses data analytics and statistical tools to cross-check data and detect anomalies.
Individuals that are found guilty of submitting incorrect tax documents must pay double the amount of tax undercharged, and may also face jail time. All businesses and self-employed individuals must also register for GST if their taxable turnover in the past year exceeds SG$1 million.
