Singapore offers to review tax agreement with Malaysia and Indonesia

New Straits Times, 9 Apr 2013
Singapore has offered to Malaysia and Indonesia to update their tax agreements with the internationally agreed Standard for exchange of information for tax purposes, says Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Tharman said Singapore cooperates readily with foreign jurisdictions to fight financial crime. Full story

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Malaysia, Indonesia Receive Tax Information From Singapore - Tax-news.com

Singapore to Raise Property Tax Rates for Luxury Homeowners

Bloomberg, 26 Feb 2013
Singapore plans to raise property levies for luxury homeowners as it seeks to tax wealthy residents in the island-state after the government imposed more measures to curb property speculation last month.
The higher tax will apply to the top 1 percent of homeowners who live in their own residences, or 12,000 properties, Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in his budget speech yesterday, without giving a definition of what constitutes a high-end home. The government will also raise tax rates for vacant investment properties or those that are rented out, he said. Full story

Singapore hopes gold tax repeal will lure bullion refiners

Mineweb.com, 12 Oct 2012
Singapore has repealed a 7% tax on investment-grade gold and other precious metals to spur the development of gold trading in the country. It is hoped the move will lift demand for gold bars and coins in the fourth quarter and applies to gold of 99.5% purity, silver of 99.9% purity and platinum of 99% purity.
While in the works for several months, the repeal came into effect on October 1.
Singapore is hoping the scrapping of the tax will lure bullion refiners to the country and convince trading houses to open storage facilities, transforming it into a key Asian pricing hub. along the lines of London and Zurich. Currently holding 2% of global gold demand, the Southeast Asian city-state aims to hike that to 10% to 15% over the next five to 10 years. Full story

Singpore's prime minister says that the city-state's famously low taxes cannot last forever.

The Telegraph, 6 Sep 2012
Singapore’s allure as a low tax environment could be under pressure after its prime minister said taxes would need to rise.
Like many south-east Asian countries, Singapore is struggling with a rapidly ageing population. This is shrinking the workforce, creating a demand for expats to relocate to the city state.
But it is also creating a tax burden, with a growing need to provide health care and social housing for elderly citizens which will have to be met by the working population.
Along with a safe, child-friendly environment Singapore also enjoys low personal tax rates. Only 20 per cent tax is charged at the highest rate, compared to 50 per cent in the UK. Full story

IRAS chases retiree for one-cent tax

inSing.com, 26 Apr 2012
A retired elderly received a letter from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore last Saturday (21 April) asking him to pay one cent in property tax or face a fine of five per cent on the amount of tax owed.
The 75 year-old, known only as Mr Huang, was initially shocked when he opened the letter.
He recovered later to see the funny side of things and issued a cheque to IRAS immediately.
“Besides settling the matter, I wish to know how they process my one-cent cheque,” he said. Full story

Middle-income earners to enjoy lower tax rates

Yahoo! Singapore News, 5 Mar 2012
There is joy for Singaporeans in the middle after all, as the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) over the weekend announced a more progressive tax rate structure for citizens, with the middle-income earners benefiting from the largest reductions.
While taxes payable remain about the same for the lowest income bracket of chargeable income earned—taking a dip from 3.5 per cent to two per cent on the next $10,000 earned after the first $20,000, those who earn between $40,000 and $120,000 in chargeable income annually will enjoy up to 2.5 per cent tax deductions, with those earning up to $120,000 having to pay up to $6,600 less than they used to. Full story

Singapore Consults On GST Changes

Tax-News.com, 11 Jul 2011
Singapore’s Ministry of Finance has announced that it will be conducting a public consultation, until July 28, on draft legislation to give effect to changes to the country’s goods and services tax (GST) regime, arising out of the 2011 Budget and the government’s on-going review of the tax code.
The changes arising out of the 2011 Budget, within the draft GST (Amendment) Bill 2011, seek to promote the marine, biomedical and logistics sectors, and lower their GST compliance costs. Full story

India, Singapore to exchange tax information

Business Standard, 24 Jun 2011
India and Singapore today amended their Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), a move that will help both the countries exchange banking and tax related information more effectively.
"This amending Protocol will go a long way in strengthening relationship between India and Singapore and facilitate mutual co-operation by effective exchange of information in tax matters between two countries," the Central Board of Direct Taxex (CBDT) said. Full story

Singapore's GST 'Not To Be Raised For At Least Five Years

Tax-news.com, 25 Apr 2011
Singapore’s Minister for Finance, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, has confirmed that goods and services tax (GST) will not be increased for at least five years.
Earlier this year, in the parliamentary debate on the 2011 Budget, the Finance Minister had had to confirm that the government had no intention of cutting the rate of GST from 7% to 5% to reduce the effects of inflation on the cost of living in Singapore. He has now found himself also having to counter speculation, and also confirm the opposite. Full story

Singapore, Ireland DTA Takes Effect

Tax-news.com, 11 Apr 2011
The double taxation agreement (DTA) between Singapore and Ireland, which was originally signed on October 28 last year, came into force on April 8, 2011.
The agreement is said to be Singapore’s 65th DTA and it is hoped that it will encourage and facilitate cross-border trade and investment between Singapore and Ireland, by providing greater clarity on taxing rights and minimizing the scope of double taxation between the two nations. Full story

Expat British bankers in the Middle East or Singapore could now be exposed to full UK taxes

eFinancialCareers-gulf.com, 1 Apr 2011
If you’re a British national who left the UK to escape high taxation, who now works in a low tax jurisdiction like the UAE or Singapore, and who returns to London for occasional meetings, this is not good news.
As of yesterday, a new UK Finance Bill says that anyone working more than 10 (non-consecutive) days a year in the UK could be liable to have their entire income subject to British tax.
Previously, it was possible to spend up to 91 days in the country before being considered a resident for tax purposes. Now 10 working days will potentially have the same effect. Full story

IRAS Reminds Singapore's Taxpayers Of Easier E-Filing

Tax-news.com, 14 Mar 2011
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has reminded the nearly 1.7m individual taxpayers, including sole-proprietors and partners, who will have to file their tax returns this year to e-File their individual income tax returns by April 18, 2011, or send in their paper returns by April 15, 2011. Full story

Singapore Will Not Reduce GST

Tax-news.com, 4 Mar 2011
Singapore’s Minister for Finance, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, in his speech to parliament rounding up the debate on the 2011 Budget, confirmed that the government had no intention of reducing the rate of goods and services tax (GST) from 7% to 5%, as had been suggested to reduce the effects of inflation in the economy. Full story

Singapore, Switzerland Sign Revised DTA

Tax-News.com, 28 Feb 2011
Moses Lee, Singapore’s Commissioner of Inland Revenue, and Jörg Reding, Switzerland’s Ambassador to Singapore, signed a revised double taxation agreement (DTA) between their two countries in Singapore on February 24, 2011.
The revised DTA will replace the current agreement which dates back to 1975, and incorporates changes that, it is hoped, will further encourage and facilitate cross-border trade and investment between Singapore and Switzerland. Full story

Many big earners in Singapore pay less tax than Hong Kong counterparts

The China Post, 23 Feb 2011
SINGAPORE--While the top tax rate of 20 percent has not changed, many of the really big earners in Singapore are still better off than their counterparts in Hong Kong. The key level for those in the salary stratosphere is SG$491,587 or US$386,043, of chargeable income a year. KPMG's head of international executive services, Ooi Boon Jin, calculated that those whose chargeable income exceeds that amount will pay more tax than their Hong Kong counterparts this year. Full story