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SINGAPORE: The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has found 166 cases of private property purchases involving the “99-to-1” scheme as a means to avoid paying the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD). Mr Chee Hong Tat, who was then Senior Minister of State for Finance, said in that as part of its surveillance efforts, IRAS had detected a small but rising number of “99-to-1” arrangements in recent years and the authority had initiated audits of such transactions. IRAS, as of April, has completed the review of 187 such “99-to-1” cases, of which 166 cases were found to have involved tax avoidance, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (May 7). "About S$60 million (US$44 million) in ABSD and surcharges will accordingly be clawed back," he added. Mr Wong was responding to Ms He Ting Ru's (WP-Sengkang) parliamentary questions about the "99-to-1" scheme. She had asked about how many referrals had IRAS made to the Council for Estate Agencies and the Law Society in the course of its investigations, whether there were any findings to be shared on their results and if the government would look to assist private property buyers who have been "misadvised" by estate agents and lawyers to obtain compensation.  On the "99-to-1" arrangement, Mr Wong said it is a "tax avoidance arrangement used by some property buyers to reduce the rightful ABSD payable on the purchase of a residential property". He explained that when such arrangements are made to reduce the tax payable, the Commissioner of Stamp Duties is empowered to "disregard the individual transactions and assess them as a single joint purchase".  Mr Wong added that the commissioner is also empowered to recover the rightful amount of ABSD due, along with a 50 per cent surcharge.  Of the 166 cases found to have involved tax avoidance, about 10 of them have evidence of potential involvement by property agents and are "currently under review by the Council for Estate Agencies". Such audits are part of regular checks by Singapore's tax authority to uncover "contrived or artificial" setups that home buyers use to avoid paying tax or stamp duties. IRAS that if it determines that tax avoidance has taken place, it will recover the rightful amount of stamp duty and impose a 50 per cent surcharge on the additional duty payable. If the stamp duty and surcharge are not paid by the deadline, it can also impose penalties of up to four times the outstanding amount. IRAS added that the time frame does not matter and that audits can be conducted on any past cases or transactions. Mr Chee said in parliament last April that from 2018 to 2021, about  transacted involved “99-to-1” or similar arrangements, and action will be taken against both buyers and property agents. In the case of property agents, IRAS will refer them to the Council for Estate Agencies for investigation and disciplinary action. "Depending on the severity of the breach, agents may face financial penalties and/or suspension of their registrations," Mr Chee then said. IRAS will also refer individuals who promote or facilitate such tax avoidance arrangements to the relevant regulatory agencies, he added.