Singapore Government Consults On Tax Proposals

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

04 August 2004

The government of Singapore has launched consultations on four key pieces of tax legislation, it emerged recently.

Singaporean taxpayers have been given until August 11 to comment on planned amendments to the Goods and Services Tax Act, the Income Tax Act, the Property Tax Act, and the Stamp Duties Act.

The amendments to the Goods and Services Tax Act have been especially welcomed by tax advisers and the general public as increasing clarity with regard to the application of the existing legislation, and include plans to:

• Facilitate electronic transactions via IRAS' new system;
• Empower Ministers to appoint a Deputy Chairmen for the GST Board of Review;
• Zero-rate services ancillary to handling of ships or aircrafts and handling or storage of goods carried in a ship or aircraft;
• Clarify that zero-rating is allowed only where the services are made contractually to and beneficially for a person outside Singapore; and
• Introduce a scheme whereby GST is waived on certain products supplied from an identified party to another identified party in a qualifying industry which predominantly engages in supplying products which have no local consumption.

According to reports, Parliament will start to debate the new legislation next month.

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