Singapore Legislates For Income Tax Change
Singaporean lawmakers approved the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017 on October 2, 2017, which provides for numerous changes to income tax policy.
Discussing the bill in parliament, Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Finance, confirmed that the existing corporate income tax rebate for 2017 will be enhanced by raising the cap from SGD20,000 (USD14,753) to SGD25,000 (USD18,441). The rebate percentage remains unchanged at 50 percent. The CIT rebate will also be extended to year of assessment 2018, at 20 percent of tax payable, capped at SGD10,000 (USD7,376). “This will help companies navigate through the economic uncertainty and continue with restructuring,” he said.
From 2018, taxpayers will also be able to claim a tax deduction for the full amount of payments made under Cost Sharing Agreements for qualifying research and development projects without the need to provide a cost breakdown.
To provide relief to individuals who pay income tax, a Personal Income Tax rebate of 20 percent of tax payable will be granted to all individual tax residents in 2017, capped at SGD500 (USD369) per taxpayer.
A number of amendments also arose from the Ministry of Finance’s periodic review of the tax regime.
Businesses are now required to maintain Transfer Pricing Documentation (TPD). The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has been encouraging businesses to maintain TPD since 2006 and this requirement has now been passed into law.
“Requiring businesses to maintain Transfer Pricing Documentation demonstrates our commitment to uphold international standards, and ensures that the profits taxed in Singapore are commensurate with the functions, assets, and risks undertaken by businesses in Singapore,” said Rajah.
However, to limit the compliance burden for smaller businesses, the requirement will only apply to firms with gross revenues of over SGD10m (USD7.4 million) with significant related-party transactions. As such, the amendment is expected to affect fewer than five percent of Singaporean firms.
From January 1, 2018, the Singaporean Government will also raise the maximum amount that an employer can voluntarily contribute to his employee’s Medisave account under the Additional Medisave Contribution Scheme, from SGD1,500 (USD1,106) to SGD2,730 (USD2,013) per year. The Ministry of Finance will increase the maximum amount of tax-exempt voluntary contributions made by employers to employees’ Medisave accounts, and the tax deduction allowable to the employer for these voluntary contributions. Similarly, for eligible companies that make voluntary contributions to the Medisave accounts of the self-employed persons they work with, the maximum tax deduction will also be increased to SGD2,730. Self-employed taxpayers will receive tax exemptions up to the same limit.
The remaining legislative changes are primarily technical in nature or relate to improvements in tax administration.
