I just received one today, and I was puzzled by two items. One showed Melbourne Australia, and I had not been there ever since I finished my studies, and I did not do any online purchases. After thinking for a while, I think I remembered that it was for my fitness run in June. The company that charged me was probably an Australian firm, though it was quite surprising.

Another one that puzzled me consisted only of a few letters and many numbers. I had just read an article or heard on BBC that states that credit card fraud takes place every 8 seconds or some other statistics. One woman noticed a charge from India on her credit card statement, so she called the bank up. The first thought she had was that the card was physically stolen. The second thing she did was to call the bank up. It turned out that she was a victim of online credit card fraud. The charge was reversed. This means the merchant who was cheated would have to absorb the loss. They will then pass the costs to the consumer. So consumers are the ones who lose out.

Coming back to my situation, I really could not think of what I had spent on. I decide to call the bank up and had to wait for 15 minutes before they answered my call. After verifying my information, they told me that it was from some government organisation. I told the call operator that I would probably recall it.

True enough, I remembered that I had used my credit card for a donation to one of my favourite charities, the SPCA. It was for tax deduction purposes. With a sigh of relief, I put the statement away. I had also used my credit card to maximise my points.

Sometimes, it does pay to check through receipts as well. I could never understand why my father would scrutinise every item on the grocery bills. Once, he was very upset that they over charged him for a $2.50 item, probably some clothes hangers. He only bought one set, but they charged him two sets. He drove all the way back, probably wasting more money in petrol and parking, just to get that sum back. Well, I had the habit of not checking, but recently, I checked my bill for books, and they charged me the price of two items instead of one. Thankfully, they confirmed that they double charged me, and refunded the money to me. This time round, the price was ten times that of the clothes hangers, so the returns were way better.

In conclusion, just remember to keep your bills and receipts and take note of your expenditure. Check through your statements and receipts carefully to avoid fraudulent charges.

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How to know whether your favourite charity is an approved Institution of a Public Character (IPC) is to check out the list. Do note that the status is subject to renewal. Last year, I had a bit of problem claiming income tax deduction from one charity for terminally ill children because it could not get its IPC status renewed in time. The status allows the public to know whether the charity is handling the funds appropriately.  

As someone who loves the arts, I’ve discovered a great way to watch plays for free and still get double deduction. Some of you may feel that theatre companies can’t be considered charities, but the sad fact is that it is very difficult for theatre companies to survive without funding. If the arts are not allowed to flourish, then Singaporeans are the ones who lose out ultimately. Cities that are attracting lots of tourists and immigrants are the ones that are culturally rich. For Singapore to survive, arts is an important aspect we cannot afford to neglect.

Hence, for a small amount of $150, you get to pay less income on your chargeable income (less $300 due to double tax deduction), and still get the following benefits. You can get 2 free tickets, and some of the tickets aren’t cheap. For someone who watches plays quite often, especially those by Wild Rice, I will get to save quite a lot of money.

• Complimentary Tickets
• The Best Available Seats
• Priority Booking
• 15% Discount on Ticket Purchases
• Invitations to Exclusive Events
• Special ‘Meet the Artist’ Sessions
• Acknowledgement in Programmes
• Double Tax Deduction
Incidentally, if you like to give back to your alma mater, there are also double tax deduction. For example, the Wee Kim Wee Legacy fund at NTU provides this tax benefit. The best part is for some scholarships, the government matches your donation with a dollar for every dollar you donate. This increases the amount that is donated!

I believe that when you help the needy and others, the returns come back to us even greater. Instead of just donating a miserable 10-cents and get a flag in return on a Saturday, donate even more. Besides, if you use your credit card to donate, you get to claim points as well. At the very least, even without all the monetary benefits, there is the satisfaction of our money making a small contribution to someone who needs it more than we do.
 

Sarah Tan – SingaporeProfit.com

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