Taoist priest gets 11 weeks’ jail, ordered to pay S$126K for tax evasion

SINGAPORE: The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) said in a press release on Monday (Nov 3) that a Taoist priest has been found guilty of tax evasion. Lim Yen Ei, 48, was sentenced to 11 weeks in jail.

Moreover, he was ordered to pay S$125,962.20 in penalties for evading S$41,987 in income tax for the 2020 year of assessment.

IRAS added that five other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing Lim, a Singaporean national.

Lim is the owner of San Jie Hun Xuan Dao Tan, which he ran under a sole proprietorship. For the year of assessment 2020, he declared only S$16,588 as his trade income in his income tax returns. This is a significantly understated figure, as his actual income was S$324,482, or nearly 20 times the amount he stated.

This means he evaded S$41,987 in taxes, and IRAS has characterised this as a wilful intent to evade tax.

According to a report in Mothership, Lim was a provider of religious services, including officiating and performing prayers at religious events and festivals and conducting funeral rites. The priest received payment in cash, cheques, or digital transfers for these services.

The report added that a woman named Florence Piong, hired by Lim to help him with his income tax returns, filed the returns on his behalf on June 25, 2020.

Because of the low amount declared on the returns, IRAS determined that Lim did not need to pay income tax that year.

After carrying out investigations, however, the authority issued notices of assessment on August 2, 2021, and March 2, 2023, so that the tax evaded could be recovered.

Mothership added that Lim has since made full restitution and that he has yet to spend any time in detention. Nor was he initially arrested.

“IRAS takes a serious view of non-compliance and tax evasion. The authority will not hesitate to prosecute offenders in court,” the statement reads. “A reward based on 15 per cent of the tax recovered, capped at $100,000, would be given to informants if the information and/or documents provided lead to a recovery of tax that would have otherwise been lost. All payments are at the discretion of the Comptroller. IRAS will ensure that the identities of informants are kept strictly confidential.”

Individuals convicted of tax evasion face a penalty of up to four times the amount of tax evaded, a fine of up to $50,000, and/or imprisonment for up to five years. Further information on tax evasion and other tax mistakes may be found on the IRAS website. /TISG

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