Singapore Consults Proposed Changes To Income Tax Act

The Ministry of Finance of Singapore asked the public for opinions on the draft Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2018 from June 20 to July 11, 2018.

Key Changes in the Proposed Amendments

17 changes are included in the proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act (ITA), which are announced in the 2018 Budget Statement. The key changes are:

• Enhancement and extension of the Corporate Income Tax rebate
• Adjustments to the Start-Up Tax Exemption Scheme and Partial Tax Exemption Scheme from YA 2020
• Enhancement of tax deductions for qualifying research and development performed locally
• Enhancement of the Double Tax Deduction for Internationalisation scheme

Other Proposed Amendments

The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2018 provides eight changes to existing tax policies and administration, arising from the periodic review of Singapore’s income tax system, as well as strengthen Whole-of-Government Law enforcement. The changes include:

• Enhance the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore’s powers to investigate tax crimes

• Sharing of information by IRAS with law enforcement agencies to combat serious crimes
• Provide for the disposal of documents or things seized under the ITA
• Allow tax deduction for motor car-related expenses for private hire car (“PHC”) drivers
• Introduce the Intellectual Property (“IP”) Development Incentive (“IDI”)

The remaining changes are technical amendments.

Sources: Singapore Ministry of Finance