Singapore High Court upholds IRAS ruling after doctors cut salaries to avoid income tax

Three former KK Women's and Children's Hospital obstetricians — Adrian Tan, Caroline Khi and Jocelyn Wong — lost their High Court challenge against the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) over a tax avoidance scheme. After moving to private practice in 2004, each paid themselves monthly salaries as low as S$5,000 while collecting millions in tax-exempt dividends: Tan alone received S$5.14 million in dividends from one firm over assessments covering 2013 to 2018. IRAS ruled that structuring income through multiple medical companies was motivated partly by tax advantage, and the court upheld its power to reclassify the doctors' business income under their individual names.