Smart Nation Difficult to submit a return to IRAS
Dear Smart Nation Office
A few months ago, I suggested that the Smart Nation Office should set up a system to allow people to use a digital signature. 

Today, I wish to share with you the trouble that I have to face in submitting a return (Form P1, Body of Persons) to IRAS.

I was asked to download a Form P1 from the IRAS website 
It was an Excel sheet. 
I was asked to print the form (which comes in 5 pages), complete it, sign it and return it to IRAS.
I am given detailed instructions on how to print the form, so that it appears neatly on A4 paper. 
(Note - the public is now required to be an expert in printing a multiple page form on Excel).

I enclose the first page of the form. You can see the trouble that I faced in having to write the details neatly. 

I will now have to find an envelope and write the address neatly, find a stamp and send the return to the postbox. 

It would be much easier for me to submit the return, if the IRAS provides an online form that I can type in and have it signed with a recognized digital signature. 
It would also save much work for IRAS. 

In the past, IRAS sent me the required physical form with a self addressed return envelope. 
IRAS now expects the taxpayer to print out the form from their website.
Maybe, this is to save money for the government, but it adds many times the cost to the taxpayer

I hope that the Smart Nation Office will implement a digital signature system promptly. 

Tan Kin Lian

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