Now watch how. at an international shooting event, the Kuwaiti hosts played the movie's spoof national anthem for the Kazakh gold medallist during the medal ceremony, and how she kept her composure throughout the ridiculous episode (I detected a hint of a grin, though)...
http://gizmodo.com/5895884/kuwait-played-borats-hilariously-obscene-fake-anthem-as-the-real-kazakhstan-national-anthem
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Meanwhile, here is the IRAS' reply -- finally -- to one TODAY letter writer's concerns that I had posted on this blog earlier:
http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120324-0000016/Sign-up-for-GIRO-to-pay-your-taxes-by-instalment
Sign up for GIRO to pay your taxes by instalment
Letter from Claire Chua, Director (Corporate Communications), Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore [TODAY, 24 March]
We refer to Ms Ng Lee Koon's letter "Can banks pay Govt bodies without one's knowledge?" (March 12). We have since written to her to clarify on the issue of appointment of banks.
A taxpayer may sign up for a GIRO instalment plan to have his taxes deducted on a monthly basis via his bank account. If he does not have such a plan, he has to pay his taxes within one month from the date of the income tax notice of assessment (NOA).
A taxpayer who misses the deadline will receive a demand note, informing him of a 5-per-cent late payment penalty and asking him to pay within a given time frame.
If he still does not pay or contact us for a payment arrangement, we will seek to recover the taxes through other means, including appointing his bank or employer as his agent to pay the outstanding tax.
The agent is required, under section 57 of the Income Tax Act, to pay the tax amount owed to us from money held for or on behalf of the taxpayer. This form of recovery of overdue taxes is commonly practised by many other tax authorities.
We send letters to taxpayers who do not pay on time to remind them of the possible tax recovery actions that may be taken. When we appoint banks or employers as agents, we also inform the taxpayer of such appointment.
Whether the agent informs the taxpayer depends on the agent's practices. In Ms Ng's case, we understand that DBS Bank had informed her of the appointment and that it is standard practice for DBS to do so for its customers.
We encourage taxpayers to pay their taxes via GIRO to enjoy 12 months of interest-free instalment payment and avoid missing payment dates. Taxpayers may also sign up at myTax Portal (https://mytax.iras.gov.sg) to receive SMS alerts when their NOAs are issued.
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So, now we know... in Singapore, you can be sure that "nothing is absolutely certain except death and taxes"!
A taxpayer may sign up for a GIRO instalment plan to have his taxes deducted on a monthly basis via his bank account. If he does not have such a plan, he has to pay his taxes within one month from the date of the income tax notice of assessment (NOA).
A taxpayer who misses the deadline will receive a demand note, informing him of a 5-per-cent late payment penalty and asking him to pay within a given time frame.
If he still does not pay or contact us for a payment arrangement, we will seek to recover the taxes through other means, including appointing his bank or employer as his agent to pay the outstanding tax.
The agent is required, under section 57 of the Income Tax Act, to pay the tax amount owed to us from money held for or on behalf of the taxpayer. This form of recovery of overdue taxes is commonly practised by many other tax authorities.
We send letters to taxpayers who do not pay on time to remind them of the possible tax recovery actions that may be taken. When we appoint banks or employers as agents, we also inform the taxpayer of such appointment.
Whether the agent informs the taxpayer depends on the agent's practices. In Ms Ng's case, we understand that DBS Bank had informed her of the appointment and that it is standard practice for DBS to do so for its customers.
We encourage taxpayers to pay their taxes via GIRO to enjoy 12 months of interest-free instalment payment and avoid missing payment dates. Taxpayers may also sign up at myTax Portal (https://mytax.iras.gov.sg) to receive SMS alerts when their NOAs are issued.
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So, now we know... in Singapore, you can be sure that "nothing is absolutely certain except death and taxes"!
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