Student Handbook

Association of Taxation Technicians Singapore (ATTS)

Specialist Certificate in Taxation STUDENT HANDBOOK

STUDENT HANDBOOK – ATTS SPECIALIST CERTIFICATE IN TAXATION

Contents Page 1.

About ATTS

3

2.

Syllabus Structure and Module Objectives

4

3.

Examination Assessment

5

4.

Programme Completion

6

5.

Examination Progression Rules

6

6.

Student Fees

7

7.

Registration for Examination

7

8.

Examination Attendance Dockets (EAD)

7

9.

Change of Addresses and Profiles

8

10. Contact Us 11. Detailed Syllabus for Modules 1 to 4

Printed as at 15 March 2015

9 10 - 15

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1.

About ATTS

The Association of Taxation Technicians (Singapore) Limited (ATTS) was incorporated under the auspices of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) in March 1995. To stay ahead of changes in the Accountancy profession, aspiring students and accountancy professionals can specialize in taxation by studying for the Specialist Certificate in Taxation, awarded by the ATTS. This programme, which is administered by the ISCA Examinations and Qualification Division, is recognized by Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals (SIATP) and will give you a strong foothold in your professional career in taxation. Highlights of this dynamic, rewarding learning experience allow students to develop strong professional qualifications and critical understanding of the latest development in taxation. Programme Objectives 1. To ensure the quality of the ATTS qualifications meet the requirements of SIATP and Tax Academy of Singapore (TAS). 2. To equip candidates with comprehensive skills and knowledge on taxation that is highly sought after by businesses. 3. To raise and uphold the standards of ATTS by enhancing and upgrading the status of Tax Professionals in Singapore. 4. For ATTS to remain relevant by keeping up to date of current and future developments in the taxation field. 5. To elevate the status of the ATTS qualification so that graduates can enjoy greater industry recognition, leading to enhanced employability and career prospects. 6. To meet the high demands of the taxation profession. Who is this ATTS Specialist Certificate in Taxation qualification for? For those who: a. are currently pursuing a career in the accounting related or non-related sectors and would like to have taxation as a niche career and/or b. would like to be kept abreast of the latest developments in the tax industry. c. are currently pursuing the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification and have completed F6 Taxation module in Singapore variant and would like to become a SIATP member via this qualification.


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2.

Syllabus Structure and Module Objectives

In terms of structure and syllabus, the Specialist Certificate in Taxation qualification is purely tax focused and aims to equip students with sufficient taxation knowledge required at diploma levels. It is structured to be attainable in a year with a maximum duration of five years. This qualification comprises the following four modules: Module

Module Objectives

Module 1 – Individual Income Tax

1) Acquire a basic understanding of the Singapore Income Tax System 2) Knowing the Singapore Income Tax Treatment on various types of income 3) Able to prepare income tax computations for individuals resident, non resident, not ordinarily resident and for individuals with business income 4) Able to identify the relief and rebates available to an individual 5) Equip students with the knowledge of handling simple tax planning for individuals 6) Understanding Withholding Tax Treatment for non resident individuals

Module 2 – Corporate Tax 1

1) Understanding of basic tax concepts related to corporate tax 2) Able to handle corporate tax computations 3) Grasping the income tax treatment on tax losses 4) Administration of income tax including tax avoidance and evasion 5) Able to advise on basic tax planning for corporate clients

Module 3 – Indirect Taxes

1) Understanding of Goods and Services Tax 2) Understanding concept of stamp duties and able to apply the same on various instruments 3) Identifying land and building subject to property tax 4) Equip students with basic knowledge on other indirect taxes


1) Understanding concepts of Withholding Tax 2) Understanding issues related to transfer pricing and other advance tax issues 3) Equip students with knowledge related to tax incentives and handling tax issues related to specialised industries 4) Ensure students are able to carry out tax planning for corporate clients 5) Expose students with hands on experience through project works


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3.

Examination Assessment Module

Assessment

Module 1 – Individual Income Tax Module 2 – Corporate Tax 1 Module 3 – Indirect Taxes

1) Written examination 100% 2) 3 hours paper (additional 15 minutes reading time for Module 4 only) 3) Minimum passing marks 50 out of 100 marks



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4.

Programme Completion

Newly registered students have 5 years from the date of registration to complete the ATTS Specialist Certificate in Taxation qualification under revamped syllabus. Earliest students can take to complete the ATTS Specialist Certificate in Taxation qualification is around one year.

5.

Examination Progression Rules

Students are required to achieve 75% class attendance in order to sit for examinations.  

This applies to both first and subsequent examination attempts. Should students fail from their first examination attempt, they are required to retake classes and achieve 75% class attendance in order to retake subsequent examination attempt. Should a similar situation occur with the subsequent attempt, the same class attendance requirement of achieving 75% will apply as long as a further examination attempt is required.

Students can attempt up to a maximum of two modular examinations per examination session. The examination sessions will be held every May and November respectively. Students can attempt Modules 1, 2 and 3 in any order where applicable. Students are required to pass Modules 1 and 2 before attempting Module 4 where applicable.


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6.

Student Fees

You will receive the Student Fee renewal notice which will be sent to your registered email address by first quarter of each year and payment has to be made within 30 days. Annual student fees for the ATTS Specialist Certificate in Taxation are to be paid online, via eNETS credit card or direct debit internet banking. You will be required to log into your online student portal through our website http://isca.org.sg/atts-cert/. Please be informed that your Login ID is your NRIC/ FIN/ Passport no. that was used at the point of registration, unless we have been updated accordingly.

7. Registration for Examination Students will be invited to register for the examinations online. Eligibility to sit for examination will be dependent on the following criteria: 1. Achieve at least 75% class attendance at SAA-Global Education and 2. Successful payment of annual student fee, including prior years’ annual fee and/or exemption fees where applicable. Examination registrations are to be done online and must be completed by the given deadline; no late entries and payment will be accepted. Students will be deemed to have made successful registrations upon the clearance of their payment of the examination fees for the registered modules. The current mode of payment for examination fee is via cheque or cashier’s order.

8. Examination Attendance Dockets (EAD) You will receive your Examination Attendance Docket via email, at least 1 week before the examination. The EAD needs to be produced at the examination centre, together with the NRIC / FIN / Passport, to ensure students’ entries to the examinations as well as to verify their identity. Details of the examination centre, timetable of the examinations, registered paper and desk number will be stated on the EAD. If students do not receive their EAD 1 week before the respective examination session, students should contact the Examinations and Qualification department immediately.


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9.

Change of Addresses and Profiles

You may update your mailing address by logging into your online student portal through our website http://isca.org.sg/atts-cert/. For the updating of other personal information, please email us at [email protected] with the relevant supporting documentation.


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10. Contact Us For enquiries on ATTS Specialist Certificate in Taxation application information, please contact: ISCA Examinations & Qualification Division 111 Somerset Road #07-05 TripleOne Somerset Singapore 238164 Tel: (65) 6704 9800 (please dial 3 at the directory) Email: [email protected] For enquiries on ATTS Specialist Certificate in Taxation course information, please contact: SAA Global Education 111 Somerset Road #06-01/02 TripleOne Somerset Singapore 238164 Tel: (65) 6733 5731 Fax: (65) 6733 5750 Email: [email protected]


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11.

Detailed Syllabus for Modules 1 to 4

Module 1 – Individual Income Tax A

The Singapore Tax System - Basic Concepts and Administration - Resident Vs Non Resident - Difference between Capital and Revenue gain - Understanding Singapore Sourced and Foreign sourced income for individuals

B

Taxation of Employment Income Including - Salaries, Bonuses, Allowances - Stock Options - Benefits in Kind - Directors’ fees - Income from Employment

C

Taxation of Other Income - Dividends, Interest Income, Rental Income - Premiums and other property transactions - Royalties - Income tax treatment of foreign sourced income for individuals

D

Exempt Income - S13 of the Income Tax Act related to individuals

E

Taxation of Self- Employed Individuals (Unincorporated Business) - Treatment of Business Income - Deduction of Expenses – S14 (Will not be tested extensively. Basic knowledge on some of the routine expenses for small sole proprietorship and partnership should be known. E.g. salaries, rental, transport etc.) - S15 Prohibitions (Will not be tested extensively. Basic knowledge on some of the routine expenses that wrongly deducted by sole proprietorship such as car expenses, purchase of fixed assets etc). - Basic knowledge of capital allowance on assets claimed within 1 year or 3 years under S19 - Basic documents to be retained - Tax treatment of Sole Proprietorship and Partnership

F

Not Ordinarily Resident

G

Withholding tax for individuals - Treatment on Non Resident Professionals - Treatment of foreign artistes

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H

Deduction under S37 - Types of Approved Donations - Conditions to satisfy - Carrying forward on unabsorbed approved donations

I

Reliefs and Rebates - Various reliefs and the conditions to satisfy - Rebates and the conditions to satisfy

J

Tax Planning for Individuals - Restricted to basic income tax planning for individuals. e.g. Tax planning for foreigners employed in Singapore (Short term and Long term) Understanding allowances vs reimbursements for employees such as for housing accommodation benefits, leave passage benefits, car benefits etc)


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Module 2 – Corporate Tax I A.

The Singapore Tax System - Administration of the Income Tax Act - Understanding concept of ‘Tax Resident’ - Difference between income and capital receipt - Badges of Trade - Understanding Trade, Profession and vocation - Various Income tax forms and deadlines for filing

B.

Income tax perspective on financial statements - Understanding the basics of yearly financial statements - Extraction of relevant information for preparing income tax computation - Extraction of information such as foreign sourced income, payments to foreign entities, related company transactions etc.

C.

Income Tax treatment on various types of Income - Business Income - Other sources of income such as rental, dividend, interest etc - Exempt Income

D.

Deductibility of Expenses - S14 on deductibility of expenses - S15 on the prohibition of expenses - Double Deductions - Other special deductions Such as Productivity and Innovation Credit, Renovation or Refurbishment Works etc - Treatment of donations

E.

Capital Allowances - Industrial Building Allowances / Land Intensification Allowances - Plant and Machinery - Intellectual Property - Hire Purchase - S21 of the Income Tax Act - S24 of the Income Tax Act

F.

Income tax treatment of unabsorbed losses and capital allowances - Carry forward losses and Capital allowances and conditions to satisfy - Group Relief Scheme - Carry Back Scheme


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G.

Income tax treatment on foreign sourced income - Double Tax Agreements - Unilateral Tax Reliefs - Concepts of Permanent Establishments - Exemptions and Reliefs on foreign sourced income

H.

Preparing Corporate tax computation - Local sourced and foreign sourced income - Deductions, donations and capital allowances - Full and Partial Exemption etc

I.

Understanding the differences between Tax Evasion vs Tax Avoidance

J.

Basic Tax Planning for Companies - Simple tax planning for corporate entities based on the topics covered from A. to I. above - For e.g. topics such as tax planning on capital allowances, handling tax losses


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Module 3 – Indirect Taxes A.

Goods and Services Tax - Basic Concepts of Goods and Services Tax - Various types of supply, including exempt supplies - GST on imports - Handling Input GST - Registration for GST - Blocked input GST - Fringe Benefits - Import benefits - Exports of goods - International Services - Administration of GST - Objections and appeals

B.

Stamp Duties - Concepts of Stamp Duties - Tax on various instruments - Legal and equitable interests - Exemptions

C.

Property Tax - Concept of Property Tax - Annual values - Tax rates for various types of building and land - Claims for building under repair etc - Exemptions - Objections and appeals

D.

Concept of Import / Customs Duties in Singapore - Concept of Import duties - Valuation of dutiable goods - Computation of dutiable goods (Rates will be provided by the examiner) - Payment of Duties - Basic understanding of preferential tariffs for imports into Singapore (for FTA Partners)

E.

Other Indirect Taxes - Betting and Sweepstake Duties - Private Lottery tax - Casino Tax - Vehicles based taxes


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Module 4 – Corporate Tax 2 A.

Withholding Tax System - Deemed Sourced Rules in section 12 of the Income Tax Act - Various withholding tax treatment for interest, royalties, technical assistance, know how, management fees etc - Withholding tax rates - Issues of permanent establishments

B.

Understanding of Transfer Pricing in Singapore - Concepts of transfer pricing - Documentation involving transfer pricing

C.

Income tax treatment for various types of legal entities - Limited Liability Partnership - Limited Partnership - Foreign Branch - Representative Office - Trusts - Clubs and Associations

D.

Incentives under Economic Expansion Incentives - Pioneer Industries and Services - Development Expansion Incentives - Investment Allowances - Export Service company - Overseas Enterprises Incentives

E.

Other specialised Industries - Income tax treatment for Shipping companies - Operating and Finance leases - Overseas headquarters - Financial Service Incentives - Approved Venture Companies - Investment holding and Dealing companies - Approved Global Trading Scheme - Unit trusts including REITS

F.

Corporate Tax Planning (Advanced)

G.

Project based work (Individual Based)

The above information is correct at the time of printing and it is subject to changes without prior notice.


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Student Handbook

Student Handbook

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