Singapore Perspectives on UK VAT Reform | ICAEW ‘How to Fix VAT’ Conference

What can the UK learn from Singapore’s approach to GST?

At ICAEW’s “How to Fix VAT Conference”, held on 18 June 2025 at Chartered Accountants’ Hall in London, tax experts explored how the UK VAT system could be simplified and reformed for the future.

The discussion included insights from the ICAEW VAT Reform Prize-winning proposal, “Reforming the UK VAT system – a comparative analysis and reform design”, by Cheryl Ong, Sze Teen Wong and Anna Poh.

The proposal examines Singapore and New Zealand as comparative models, including how Singapore combines a broad-based GST system with targeted social transfers such as the GST Voucher scheme to address the regressive effects of consumption taxation.

During the session on “How to Simplify UK VAT”, Dennis Lui, CEO of Tax Academy of Singapore and Deputy Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), shared Singapore’s experience and perspectives.

Stephen Dale, Chair of ICAEW’s VAT and Duties Committee, also discussed the importance of reviewing VAT in the context of sustainable economic practices.

Hear from VAT experts Yige Zu, Ed Saltmarsh and Lindsey Wicks as they reflect on the prize-winning proposal and the wider possibilities for VAT reform.

The conference brought together perspectives on VAT simplification, policy design, sustainability, technology and tax administration — highlighting how international experience can contribute to the continuing conversation on the future of VAT.

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Learn more about Tax Academy at https://taxacademy.sg/
Read the VAT reform prize winning proposal here: https://www.icaew.com/policy-and-research/research-and-academics/vat-reform-prize-winner-winning-proposal