ACCT 223

Taxation
Course Outline
AY 2016/17
Term 1
(Groups 3&4)
A. Instructor and Contact Information
Prof. Sum Yee Loong
Room 5031, School of Accountancy
Singapore Management University
Singapore 178900

Tel:
(65) 6828-0605
Fax:
(65) 6828-0600
Email: ylsum@smu.edu.sg

Consultation times: Weekdays anytime from 7.30 am to 6pm (unless I have classes).
B. Course Prerequisites
Knowledge of financial accounting, management accounting, finance, economics and company and
business law would be useful for this course.
C. Course Description

This course aims to impart knowledge and understanding in the workings and basic principles of
income tax and GST in Singapore.

D. Learning Goals, Course Objectives and Skill Developments

This course contributes to the development of the following learning goals:
LO1.2
Our students can analyze, synthesize and evaluate financial and other related
information for decision making in a management context.
LO1.4
Our students understand and can apply tax principles and requirements relevant to individuals
and business entities.
LO2.1

Our students understand and can apply business concepts and principles.

LO2.3

Our students can communicate effectively in a business context.

LO3.1
Our students understand and can apply the ethical principles relevant to accounting
professionals.
This course develops students understand of and ability to apply tax principles and requirements
relevant to individuals and business entities.
Students are expected to demonstrate the following technical competencies upon successful completion
of this course:
1.
2.
3.

Ability to identify tax issues;

Understanding of tax law and practices; and
Ability to compute tax liabilities and evaluate tax alternatives to maximize taxpayers net cash
flow.

ACCT223 Taxation AY 2016-2017 Term 1 Groups 3&4

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E. Learning Approach

The pedagogical approach to this course consists of three major elements:

Instructor-facilitated Learning: Explanation, Facilitation, Clarification, Synthesis and Analysis
Individual Learning: Preparation, Analysis, Discussion, Understanding and to compare and
contrast
Collaborative Learning: Teamwork, Class discussion between peers.
The role of the instructor is to facilitate, explain and clarify tax concepts.
Students are reminded that their individual contribution to learning starts before class. Students should
prepare by pre-reading, analysing the materials to be covered before coming to class and actively
participate in class discussions. Before class preparation is the key for better and faster
understanding of tax concepts and principles.
Collaborative learning elements are developed through your contribution to your classmates learning
experiences, either through teamwork in your group project and being willing to contribute to class
discussions and sharing your thoughts so others will benefit. Naturally, your individual preparation,
analysis and action will determine how much you are able to contribute to collaborative learning.

F. Textbook and Other Resources

Textbook and Other References

Required Readings
Singapore Tax Workbook Sum Yee Loong 19th Ed

Singapore Income Tax Act

Singapore Goods & Services Act

4
5

Relevant Income Tax / GST Bills

Relevant IRAS E-guides

Publisher
CCH
Singapore National
Printer / CCH / Lawnet
Singapore National
Printer / CCH / Lawnet
MOF website
IRAS website

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Others
Singapore Master Tax Guide 2016
Singapore Budget Commentary 2016
Singapore Budget Commentary 2016
Singapore Budget Commentary 2016
Singapore Budget Commentary 2016
Malaysia and Singapore Tax cases
Relevant Tax Cases

CCH
Deloitte & Touche
Ernst & Young
KPMG Singapore
PWC Singapore
CCH
Lawnet

1
2

Databases
Singapore Master Tax Guide
Singapore Good and Services Guide

SMU Library E-journals

SMU Library E-journals

ACCT223 Taxation AY 2016-2017 Term 1 Groups 3&4

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G. Lesson Plan
Class sessions are of 3-hour duration and will include a review of study materials, class discussions and
other learning activities. (Please refer to Annex 1 for topics to be covered each week). Course materials
will be published in SMU eLearn ( https://elearn.smu.edu.sg ).
A brief outline of course schedule is provided below. A detailed course work plan is available in Annex 2.
Basic Tax concepts
Taxable and Non-taxable / exempt Income
Expenses deductible and non-deductible
Capital Allowances
Personal Reliefs & Computation of Individual
Tax
Taxation of Partnership

Taxation of Non-residents
Taxation of Companies; Carry Forward and
Carry Back of Unabsorbed Capital Allowances,
Unabsorbed Losses and Unabsorbed
Donations; Group Relief
Tax Administration
Goods & Services Tax

H. Assessment
To pass the course, a student is required to obtain a TOTAL mark of 50 or higher. The assessment
components are: Class Learning Activities (20%), Progress Assessment (10%), Group Project (20%) and
Final Examination (50%).
1. Class Learning Activities (20%)
Students are strongly encouraged to actively participate in class discussions. Students will be graded on
an individual basis according to their contributions to the class discussions (10%), (please refer to Annex
2) and 2 surprise quizzes (10%). In this respect, students should come well prepared for every seminar in
this course.
2. Progress Assessment (10%)
There will be a test on Week 9 (Friday, 14th October, 5pm to 6.30pm). The test will cover up to the topics
from Week 1 to Week 7 (up to individual taxation).
3. Group Project (20%)
A group project will be set based on tax administration or policies for corporate or individual
taxpayers or a combination of these and given to you on week 7. The project to be
done in groups of 3 or 4 and the softcopy must be submitted before mid-night (2359
hrs) on Sunday (13th November) of Week 13 and the hardcopy put into my pigeon hole
on Level 5 by 6 pm on Monday 14th November.
4.Final Examination (50%)
The final examination will be a 3-hour paper. The exam will consist of essay type and computational
questions.
This will be a semi-open book exam with conditions (i.e. only the following may be used):
1. Income Tax Act;
2. GST Act; and
3. 1 A4 size cheat sheet (double-sided).

ACCT223 Taxation AY 2016-2017 Term 1 Groups 3&4

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The Acts may be highlighted and tagged but nothing is to be written in the Acts.

Academic Integrity
All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation
of act of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorised possession of exam questions or tempering with
the academic work of other students) are serious offences. All work (whether oral or written) submitted for
purposes of assessment must be the students own work. Penalties for violation of the policy range from
zero marks for the component assessment to expulsion, depending on the nature of the offense. When in
doubt, students should consult the instructors of the course. Details on the SMU Code of Academic
Integrity may be accessed at http://www.smuscd.org/resources.html
.

Prepared by: Sum Yee Loong

Approved by: Associate Dean

ACCT223 Taxation AY 2016-2017 Term 1 Groups 3&4

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ANNEX 1

Week
1

2 /3

3/4

Week

Topics

Starting
15 Aug

ITA
Section

INTRODUCTION

1.1

Historical background and legislative framework

1.2

Types of taxes

1.3

Framework of the course

1.4

Tax jurisdiction

1.5

Territorial and worldwide basis of taxation

1.6

Charging section

1.7

Year of assessment and basis period

1.8

Tax residence

1.9

Taxable persons

1.10

Accruing in or derived from Singapore (source) / received

in Singapore

10(1)
2,
35(1) & (4)

10(1)
10(25)

INCOME

22 Aug/

29 Aug

2.1

Income vs capital gains

2.2

Badges of trade

2.3

Trade, business, profession and vocation

2.4

Employment vs profession
Benefits-in-kind
Stock options

2.5

Dividends and interest

2.6

Rent and royalties

2.7

Exempt income

10(1)(a)
10(2), (6), (7)
&
12(4)
10(1)(d)
13((1)(zd)
10(1)(f),
10(14),(16).
13

DEDUCTIBLE EXPENSES

29 Aug/

5 Sept

3.1

Distinction between revenue and capital expenditure

3.2

Disallowed expenses

15

3.3

Tax deductible expenses

14

3.4

Interest

3.5

Pre-commencement expenses

3.6

Special deductions: registration of patents, building

modifications, upfront land premiums, treasury shares and
renovation and refurbishments (R &R)

3.7

Double/further deductions

3.7.1

- Trade fairs, exhibitions, overseas trade offices

ACCT223 Taxation AY 2016-2017 Term 1 Groups 3&4

14(1)(a)
14U
14A,H,N,P,Q

14B

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3.7.2

4/5

3.8

Donations

3.9

Productivity and innovation credit (PIC): registration of IP,

R&D, training, design, leasing and royalties

3.10

PIC bonus

14D,DA,E
37(3)
14A,DA,R,S,T
,W, 19A
37IA

5 Sept/

CAPITAL ALLOWANCES

12 Sept

4.1

Plant & machinery (P & M)

4.2

Balancing adjustments

20

4.2

Replacement of P & M

21

4.3

Related party transfers

24

4.4

Intellectual property rights

4.5

Industrial building allowance (IBA)

16

4.6

Balancing adjustment

17

4.7

Land intensification allowance

4.8

5/6

- R&D

PIC : automation equipment and IPR

19, 19(A)

19(B)

18C
19A(2A),
(2B),19B(1A),
(1B)

12 Sept/

INDIVIDUALS

19 Sept

5.1

Personal reliefs

5.2

Parenthood tax rebates

42A

5.3

Transfer of CA / losses / donations to spouse

37D

5.4

Carry back relief

26 Sept

39, 5th Sch

37E, F

TAXATION OF NON-RESIDENTS

6.1

Sources of income (deeming provisions)

12(1)-(8)

6.2

Withholding tax

45-45GA

6.3

Reliefs for non-residents s40 to s40C

40- 40C

RECESS

3 Oct

9/10

10 Oct/

17 Oct

7.1

Imputation system, classical system and one-tier

corporate tax system

7.2

Statutory, assessable & chargeable Income

7.3

Full & partial tax exemption

7.4

Carry forward of CA, losses and donations.

23(1), 37(3)

7.5

Shareholders test.

23(4),37(12)

TAXATION OF COMPANIES

ACCT223 Taxation AY 2016-2017 Term 1 Groups 3&4

35, 37, 38
43(6)

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11

12

24 Oct

31 Oct

7.6

Waiver of shareholders test

7.5

Group relief system

37C

7.6

Carry back of CA and losses

37E

PARTNERSHIP AND TAX ADMINISTRATION

ITA

8.1

Determination of partners share of adjusted profits/losses

36

8.1

Returns

62, 63

8.2

Assessments

72, 73

8.3

Appeals

76 - 84

8.4

Collection

8.5

Offences and penalties

8.6

Record keeping

67

8.7

Others

68

23(5),37(16)

85
87, 94-96A

GOODS & SERVICES TAX

GST Act

9.1

Overview & charging section

8, 10

9.2

GST registration

9.3

Types of supplies and deemed supply

9.4

Time, place and value of supply

9.5

Zero-rating for exports and international services

9.6

Reimbursements or disbursements

9.7

Accounting period for GST

9.8

Offences & penalties

13

7 Nov

Revision

14

14 Nov

Study week

15/16

21 Nov/

Exam weeks

9
1st Schedule
10
2nd & 4th
Schedule
11-13, 15-18
21
GST general
regulation
s52
58-67

28 Nov

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ANNEX 2

Grading Policies Class Learning Activities (10%)

Class learning activities and class participation are an integral pedagogical approach at SMU. The
importance of class interaction is enshrined in the SMU Mission Statement: Delivering an interactive,
participative and technologically-enabled learning experience . It is also one aspect of assessment that
may give rise to anxiety to some students due to its potential ambiguity. This grading policy on class
learning activities intends to provide you some indication on how you will be assessed.
Grading
Your Class Learning Activities grade will reflect the assessment of your level of Individual Learning
(Preparation, Analysis, Action) having a positive impact on Collaborative Learning (Team Work,
Discussion and Sharing), and your overall level of professionalism. Thus, ill-prepared blabbering is
inappropriate, similarly the hijacking the airwaves without due consideration of others.

Mark Range

Comments

81 - 100

Outstanding Contributor. This student was well prepared and contributed actively to
class discussion. The students presence in the seminar significantly enhanced the
learning experience for other students.

71 - 80

51 - 70

Good Contributor. This student was well prepared and contributed positively to class
discussion and was an active participant in class and during group learning.
Average Contributor. This student attempted the seminar exercises and participated in
class, but less frequently or with contribution of a lower quality than outstanding and
good contributors.

31 - 50

Below Average Contributor. This student had done minimal preparation, occasionally
absent from classes and generally had very little participation in class.

0 - 30

Unsatisfactory Contributor. This student was unprepared, occasionally absent from

classes and did not participate.

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ANNEX 3

Group Project (20%)

You are required to prepare a report on a project based on tax administration or policies for
corporate or individual taxpayers.
Each group is required to deposit a hardcopy of the report into my pigeon-hole on L5
SOA by 1800 hours on Monday 14.11.2016.
The softcopy of the report (Microsoft Word format) should be compressed in a zip
file and sent to me through email before midnight (2359 hrs) of Sunday
13.11.2016.
Marks will be deducted for late submissions.

Aim and Scope

The aim of the Group Project is to integrate the concepts, theories and discussions you have covered into a
report on the subject/project as set. You should be able to research, critically analyse and evaluate the
various technical issues on the subject matter and report these in a clear and concise manner; but ensuring
that all technical points are still clearly analysed and illustrated

Key Specifications

Maximum length of report: up to 5000 words, excluding appendices, if any.

Formatting: One line paragraph spacing, with spaces between paragraphs

Electronic submission in Microsoft Word format, one file only

This project is worth 20% of the total 100% grade component. Grading policy for this assessment is
described below.

Report
The final report must include a (1) cover page and executive summary, (2) introduction (3) analysis
and (4) conclusions. Your report should demonstrate your ability to carefully research, thoughtfully write
and professionally present your groups analysis. Your report should not be just a bullet point list of
answers, nor should it merely contain extracts and quotations of the legislations and/or articles. It must
show a coherent flow and exhibit a cohesive examination of the company.
You are welcomed to use other sources of information (e.g. IRAS website, press releases, newspaper
clippings, etc) but they must be properly cited, referenced and noted. Indicate where possible the section(s)
of the Income Tax Act, GST Act, Economic Expansion Incentives Act or other source(s) which provide(s)
the information. You can expect that the reader of the report is reasonably knowledgeable about taxation
and fiscal matters. You do not have to spend time defining basic items.

ACCT223 Taxation AY 2016-2017 Term 1 Groups 3&4

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Grading
Your Group Project grade will reflect my assessment of your level of research, critical analysis and
conclusions. Your ability to convey what you have analysed into a meaningful, well-structured, wellpresented report will be evaluated. This is a shared grade amongst the group members, unless there are
indications of a non-functioning group where other basis of allocation may then be applied as deemed
appropriate under such circumstances. Groups having insurmountable conflicts are advised to get in touch
with me as soon as possible.

Recap of important elements of a desirable group project report:

Structure: A cohesive structure that flows logically from one section to another, demonstrating a holistic
understanding of the overall purpose of the report rather than piece-meal, point-by-point answers to a
series of questions.
o
A proper executive summary that summarises your report, not an executive agenda.
o
An introduction that explains to the intended reader of your scope, agenda, approach,
assumptions, etc.
o
Good, clean and consistent formatting, appropriate spacing, consistency of styles, and
good English expressions, adherence to grammar and sentence structure.
o
Properly-cited references that demonstrate an attempt to learn beyond the course
materials.
o
An appropriate and strong conclusion.

Analysis: A comprehensive assessment of all relevant information at a level appropriate for the course,
based on the prescribed methodology.
o
Exhibit sufficient level and depth of analysis.
o
Appropriate use of summary tables, charts, figures, appendices, etc to illustrate your
findings and analysis.
o
Technical proficiencies (calculations) are assumed, unless your report casts doubts of your
ability.

Your Group Project Report grade will be based on the elements listed above. The grades below are out of
20 points assigned to this component of assessment.

A+ [19-20] = truly exceptional report exceeding expectation, reserved for those who manage to
demonstrate all of the above requirements
A & A- [16-18] = excellent report, meeting significant majority of the above requirements
Bs [14-15] = good effort, meeting most of the above requirements
Cs [11-13] = commendable attempt, but lacking in many areas
Ds [10] = poor effort
Fs [0 to 9] = very poor effort

ACCT223 Taxation AY 2016-2017 Term 1 Groups 3&4

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