There is a belief among some applicants that paying more in taxes means that your chances of getting your PR application approved will be higher. Is there any truth behind that? Let us find out more!
First of all, because Singapore has a progressive tax system for individuals, this means that the higher your drawn salary for the year, the more you will need to pay both in terms of the percentage as well as the actual dollar amount. Therefore, generally speaking, the more you pay in terms of taxes, the higher your income, which is always beneficial when it comes to increasing your chances of approval as the state always want wealthy individuals to live in it.
Second of all, the number of times you pay can also appear to be a factor in increasing your probability of success. However, the real reason behind that is because it demonstrates that you are serious about living in and working in SG. It is not so much about the amount you actually pay yearly over the years, but it demonstrates your time spent in the country clearly with hard proof.
However, as you may already have noticed, there are many billionaire high flyers who made their riches in other countries, and decided to pick up a residency here. One of the most famous one is Eduardo Saverin, among a few others. Most investors and entrepreneurs (including you if you are one) may structure your cash flow to come from corporate entities you own instead of directly as drawn salary. This means that your actual taxes paid may be legally lower than many others who make far less than you. However, as you can tell from many famous examples, that other factors that the government takes into account for approval including but not limited to business acumen, ability to lead and bring new investments into the city, and being a powerful figure are often far more important ones. Even if you have top notch accountants and lawyers to help you legally lower your taxes paid in SG to nearly zero, you can still have a high chances of approval than others who pay more in taxes because of the other benefits you bring.
Social integration is also a key assessment criteria when it comes to getting a PR application approved, among many other factors. Therefore, while at face value it may appear that your friends who pay more taxes and more times appear to have a higher probability of success, it is actually other factors which are pushing them towards success!