Faculty Feature
Associate Professor
Stephen Phua:
Of Passion and Taxes
Stephen Phua ’88 teaches Income Tax, Goods and
Services Tax, Corporate Taxation, International Tax
and Business & Finance for Lawyers at NUS Law. He is
a consultant with the Inland Revenue Authority of
Singapore (IRAS) and an examiner with the Chartered
Institute of Taxation in London. He is also an
Eastern Scholar, and a Visiting Professor at the
International Law School of East China University of
Law and Politics in Shanghai. He is a member of
Indonesia National Trade Repository, Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development, and is a
programme advisor to the International Tax and
Investment Center in Washington DC.
He was a visiting scholar and professor to several
leading universities in Australia, Canada, China,
Japan and the USA. He was a member of the Tax
Advisory Group in Ministry of Finance. He served as
a member for more than a decade on each one of the
three tax tribunals in Singapore (Income Tax Board
of Review, Goods and Services Tax Board of Review
and Valuation Review Board). Prior to joining IRAS,
he was a tax consultant in a leading law firm in
Singapore.
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What made you decide to specialise in tax law?
I have
always been interested in the economic foundations
of state governance. Taxation is the oldest and
remains a mainstay of modern public finance. Yet, it
is not economically intuitive that a legal system
designed to extract private property for public
purposes could enjoy universal acceptance by
subjects in virtually every civilization.
Ultimately, taxation laws express the collective
will of different societies through unique blends of
policy choices in socio-economics and pragmatism.
Yet, the socio-political values that underpin a need
to advance public interests without undermining
private incentive would necessarily have to evolve
to remain relevant over time and changing
circumstances. In this respect, I am particularly
fascinated by the dynamism in the operation of tax
laws despite the inherent tensions from competing,
if not conflicting, interests. The other area of law
that elicits a similar struggle is the criminal
justice system.
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What have been some of the highlights of your career?
It has been a source of great
accomplishment to see batches of former students
empowered by a working knowledge of tax law to
become better corporate lawyers or to devote an
entire career specialising in tax law or compliance.
It also gives me a great sense of pride that many
have excelled and are leaders in their respective
field of tax practice.
Having become more active in tax practice over the
last 10 years, I have come appreciate the beneficial
impact client work has had on my teaching
methodologies. Often, I found the practical issues
and challenges encountered by clients and tax
authorities beyond the contemplation of
parliamentary drafters as well as scholars.
Engagement in such work offers invaluable
perspectives and enhances the technical rigour of my
understanding of rules and characterisation of tax
issues. Teaching is as noble as it is humbling.
Last, the opportunity to participate as a member of
the boards of review for over three decades was a
great privilege and honour. The most difficult and
delicate aspect of my involvement in taxation is not
teaching or practice but the determination of
outcomes in disputes. As the standards of our tax
administration and taxpayer compliance culture in
Singapore are very high by international standards,
the relatively few differences in views that
ultimately reach the courts for adjudication are
rarely straightforward.
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What are some of the most challenging areas within
tax law?
Tax laws
can be technically very challenging when the
provisions are either overly complex or too general.
When it is too complex, there is an increased risk
of non-compliance or unintended consequences in its
application. When it is too general and broad,
sometimes it may impair the desirable level of
certainty in transactional outcomes.
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During your time in NUS Law, you also helped
establish the Center for International Tax Law in
East China University of Political Science and Law
in Shanghai, can you tell us more about your work
there?
I was the first Singapore citizen to be appointed an
Eastern Scholar by the Government of the Shanghai
Municipality in 2011. The appointment was for the
specific task of assisting in the capacity building
of international tax resources in Shanghai. In that
role, I set up the centre to promote research and
teaching in international tax issues. Besides the
usual research publications and conferences, the
centre also raised funds from the private sector to
support regular international tax essay writing
competitions for young scholars from all over the
world.
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What would you advise students who hope to
specialise in tax law?
Like all other areas, the practice of tax law
requires an enduring passion and devotion. In
particular, there are rapid and frequent changes in
every domestic tax system, and every tax
practitioner is expected to be aware of developments
elsewhere as the Singapore economy is essentially a
hub for international finance, trade and
investments.