Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Suggestion to IRAS

where was i?

There is a significant difference in value placed on a gardener and a household servant in the computation of taxable benefits granted to an employee.

Current laws
  • For a gardener, it is $35 per month or actual wages paid by employer, whichever is lower.
  • Whereas for a household servant, it is based on the actual wages paid by employer.
Refer - www.iras.gov.sg/irasHome/page03.aspx?id=3638

Perhaps the "discrepancy" could be due to:-
  • the gardener's thingy has been around since the British colonial days where expatriates stayed in bungalows with gardens groomed by gardeners getting $35 salary
  • the household servant is a more recent phenomenon
  • or is it that gardeners are part-timers who come around once a while to touch up on your garden
Whatever it is, I am just trying to cheekily explain the "discrepancy" in IRAS' valuation of a gardener as compared to a household servant.

So can I advise expatriate employees (if there is any left) to ask their employers to hire "gardeners" who can do household chores to effectively lower your taxable employment income? :)

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