Accountant-General Ow Fook Chuen named new Iras chief
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Accountant-General Ow Fook Chuen (left) succeeds Mr Ng Wai Choong, who will retire from the civil service.
PHOTOS: MINISTRY OF FINANCE
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SINGAPORE – Accountant-General Ow Fook Chuen will be the new commissioner of inland revenue and chief executive officer of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) from Feb 7, 2025.
He succeeds Mr Ng Wai Choong, 59, who will retire from the civil service on the same day, after some seven years heading Iras, said the Ministry of Finance on Dec 4.
Mr Ng’s next role – still related to public service – will be announced in due course, it added.
The current Deputy Accountant-General Esther Wee Yu, 48, will assume Mr Ow’s vacated position as accountant-general.
Mr Ow, 52, will also be appointed to the Iras board and Madam Wee to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority board.
The Finance Ministry paid tribute to Mr Ng’s “significant contributions” that have helped position Iras as a leading global tax authority.
Under his leadership – from Feb 1, 2018 – Iras introduced policies to combat tax avoidance by multinational corporations, namely, the income inclusion rule and domestic top-up tax.
It also implemented rate changes for the major tax types and the goods and services tax for imported services and small-value goods.
Mr Ng also digitalised taxpayer notices, improved the myTax Portal and extended the No Filing Service – where eligible people do not need to file income tax – to the self-employed, including private-hire car drivers and delivery workers.
Mr Ow has served nearly 10 years as accountant-general, helping the president protect Singapore’s reserves and ensuring the integrity of government financial and accounting systems, said the ministry.
Since March 23, 2015, he has advised on the use of past reserves, including an unprecedented drawdown during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also led accelerated workforce reforms in the public sector finance and internal audit community to develop “agility, deep expertise and talent bench strength”, benefiting close to 4,000 public sector finance officers.
The ministry added: “The Ministry of Finance, Iras and Accountant-General’s Department (AGD) would like to express our deep appreciation to both Mr Ng and Mr Ow for their dedication and invaluable contributions to Iras and AGD.”
