Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

issued

revenue stamps A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, ...

from 1948 to 1999. There were various types of fiscal stamps for different taxes.

Revenue

From the nineteenth century Singapore used revenues of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

. In 1948, the first revenue stamps exclusively for use in Singapore were issued. Three values were issued - $25, $50 and $100 - and the stamps portrayed

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

. The $25 and $100 were reprinted in 1951 and 1953 respectively using a different perforation. In 1954, these three values were reissued with the portrait of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

following her father's death. These were then reissued about ten years later with a new watermark. Following Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965, revenue stamps were issued a year later showing the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

. Seven values were issued, ranging from 5c to $5. Between 1969 and 1982 various high-value designs also showing the coat of arms were issued. There are various settings when it comes to perforation, watermark, paper and size, but the basic set consists of the following values: *$25 red and green *$100 red and orange *$500 red and violet *$2000 red and brown *$10000 red and dark blue *$50000 red and black Apart from these, various other low value sets were also issued. In 1985 six values from 10c to $5 were issued in a horizontal format inscribed REVENUE SINGAPORE. These were replaced around 1990 with a set of four values inscribed STAMP DUTY INLAND REVENUE SINGAPORE.Barefoot, John. ''British Commonwealth Revenues''. 9th edition. York: J. Barefoot, 2012, pp. 347-349. The last set of low values as well as the high values were withdrawn by the

IRAS The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (Dutch: ''Infrarood Astronomische Satelliet'') (IRAS) was the first space telescope to perform a survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths. Launched on 25 January 1983, its mission lasted ten mo ...

in 1999, as from that year e-stamps were used. As an effort to raise money, 2500 sets of revenue stamps were sold to collectors by the Authority in 2012.

Other types

Entertainments Duty

Singapore issued several stamps to pay the tax on theatre and cinema tickets. The first series was issued from 1955 to 1965 and they bore the symbol of the Straits Settlements. Various surcharges on these were issued until the 1970s. Two other types showing the new coat of arms were issued in 1971 and 1976 as well.

Television or Radio Licence

Various stamps were issued to pay for television or radio licence in Singapore. In the late 1960s and the 1970s, stamps inscribed for either radio or television licence were used accordingly. By the 1980s, radio licence stamps were no longer used and various stamps inscribed SINGAPORE COLOUR TELEVISION LICENCE FEE were issued.

Trade Development Board

Following the creation of the Singapore Trade Development Board in 1983, two stamps denominated $2 or $10 were issued to pay fees and taxes by the Board.

Passenger Service Charge

The

Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is Singapore's civil aviation authority and a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore. Its head office is located on the fourth storey of Singapore Chan ...

issued several labels to pay for the passenger service charge. Around 1983 a plain label was issued to pay the international passenger service charge of $12. Until 1993, other labels denominated $5, $12 or $15 were used. From 1994 onwards, $15 labels also included 44c

GST GST may refer to: Taxes * General sales tax * Goods and Services Tax, the name for the value-added tax in several jurisdictions: ** Goods and services tax (Australia) ** Goods and Services Tax (Canada) ** Goods and Services Tax (Hong Kong) **G ...

References

{{Revenue Stamps Philately of Singapore Economy of Singapore