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GST Rate Hike: How Businesses Should Prepare For Impact
Starting from 1 January 2023, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) rate has been increased from 7 per cent to 8 per cent, with further plans to increase to 9 per cent starting from 1 January 2024. Businesses of all sizes should not take the GST rate hike lightly and should...
What Start-ups Need to Consider When ESOPs Go Underwater
In an effort to lessen turnover rates, large companies and start-ups in Southeast Asia have started turning to Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) to retain and incentivise staff. There are many reasons why companies should adopt ESOP. Its benefits include...
Transfer Pricing Considerations For Intangible Property
Intangible assets are mostly seen as the main driver of value creation for a majority of businesses. Intangibles are now a key profit driver due to technological changes and the digital revolution. Companies need to be aware of the intangible assets or property they...
3 Essential Reasons Why Your Company Should Adopt ESOP
An Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) allows an employee the right to purchase shares in a company at a specific pre-determined price on or after specific dates under the plan. It is a critical part of an organisation's compensation strategy and is an employment...
Understanding Section 19B Of The Income Tax Act 1947
Section 19B of the Singapore Income Tax Act permits companies to claim writing down allowances (WDA) on capital expenditures incurred on the acquisition of qualifying Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) for use in their business. The company must submit an independent...
GST Rate Hike: Relief Programs For GST-Registered Businesses
As most of us know, Singapore's Goods and Service Tax (GST) rate will increase from 7% to 8% starting from January 1, 2023. The GST rate hike will impact all GST-registered businesses that produce or sell goods or services subject to the standard rate of GST....
YA 2022 Corporate Tax Filing: 4 Common Pitfalls To Avoid
There are many potential errors to avoid when preparing a tax return. Corporate taxpayers in Singapore must promptly file their tax returns with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Companies in Singapore are given sufficient time to prepare and file...
2023 GST Rate Change: Impact on Businesses and Consumers
Singapore's Finance Minister stated in his Budget 2022 speech that Singapore's Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate would be raised from 7% to 8% on January 1, 2023, and from 8% to 9% on January 1, 2024. Businesses and consumers need to consider the hidden consequences...
Transfer Pricing Risk Management: 6 Ways To Manage It
The transfer pricing issue is a complex one that is constantly changing. Businesses need to have fast and easy access to up-to-date and accurate information. Read on to learn more about the six ways businesses can manage transfer pricing issues appropriately. 1. Focus...
GST-Registered Businesses: Responsibilities and Obligations
GST or Goods and Services Tax registered companies in Singapore are required to fulfil a number of responsibilities. Some of the GST-registered businesses’ responsibilities are to charge and account for GST, complete GST filing on time, keep proper records, and...
What To Know About Managing Intellectual Property During M&A
Nearly all mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions involve some intellectual property (IP), the most significant asset an enterprise can own. IP refers to intangible assets that the law protects from unauthorised use. The most common examples of legal...
A Brief Guide To Understanding The Goodwill Impairment Test
The assets that companies acquire usually change in value throughout their useful lifecycle. They also typically require periodic reassessment to determine their current economic useful life and enable financial statements to constitute an accurate value. These...
Everything To Know About The 5 Transfer Pricing Methods
Transfer pricing services in Singapore are pretty prominent. However, it is a complex process. From calculation approaches to international regulations, you need to deal with plenty of technicalities in terms of transfer pricing. Nonetheless, what is good about...
2023 GST Rate Change: Transitional Rules And Applicability
In Budget 2022, Singapore’s Minister of Finance, Mr Lawrence Wong, announced that the rate for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will increase in a two-step approach – from 7% to 8% starting January 1, 2023, and from 8% to 9% beginning January 1, 2024. This...
Examining Intangible Asset Valuation In Times Of COVID-19
COVID-19 has greatly impacted the global economy. More than two years since the health crisis began, many businesses are still grappling with the financial, regulatory, and operational challenges caused by the pandemic and adjusting to the changing needs of their...
What To Know About The Value Of TP Consultants In Business
Transfer pricing services in Singapore and other financially competitive countries are quite in demand and highly valuable. One of the most common services that many businesses seek is transfer pricing consultancy. A transfer pricing consultant is an expert who...
7 Key Fundamentals Of Business Valuation To Understand
Conducting a proper business valuation requires professional judgment, experience, and a working knowledge of various factors. This includes determining the purpose of the valuation, a deep understanding of the industry, value drivers affecting the subject company,...
Why It’s Important For SMEs To Be Aware Of Transfer Pricing
Expanding overseas is becoming a cheaper and more enticing prospect for more businesses in our digital age. Even SMEs are considering expanding their operations beyond the borders of their home country, hoping to participate in new markets or hire a less expensive...
A Beginner’s Useful Guide To Registering As A GST Trader
In Singapore, the Value Added Tax (VAT) takes another form – the Goods and Services Tax (GST). GST is a type of consumption tax, which is levied on almost all supplies of goods and services in the country as well as on the import of foreign goods. There have already...
Impact Of Recent Transfer Pricing Adjustments On GST
Businesses have long made adjustments to their transfer pricing strategies as a way to stay compliant with the arm’s length principle for the purpose of income tax. However, it is important to note that adjustments on transfer pricing could also have implications on...
The Implications Of Supply Chain Disruptions On TP Functions
Supply chains have undoubtedly faced significant disruptions when the COVID-19 crisis hit almost the entire world. These global supply chain disruptions have slowed manufacturing lines, paralysed ports, and contributed to increasing inflation, among others. The...
A Useful Guide To Getting Ready For The GST Rate Hike
As early as 2018, there were already plans to increase the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate in Singapore. Finally, in the 2022 Budget Statement given by the Minister of Finance Mr. Lawrence Wong, one of the key points that was highlighted was the two-step hike in the...
Tax Implications Of SPAC That You Need To Know About
The term "SPAC" has been causing quite a stir in the Singaporean market these days. This happened after the Singapore Exchange (SGX) finally announced the SPAC listing regulations in Singapore in September 2021, more than a decade since it first looked into SPAC...
Singapore GST Rate Hike: An Overview Of What’s To Come
On February 8, 2022, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong delivered his Budget speech, which primarily focused on the tax changes that are to be expected in the coming months and years. One key highlight in the address is the delay of the anticipated increase in Singapore's...
Unpacking The Crucial Tax Changes Unveiled In Budget 2022
On February 18, 2022, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong delivered his first Budget speech, which involved several announcements connected to Singapore’s tax system. The primary goal of Budget 2022 is to enhance the country’s preparation for future challenges and...
Everything To Know About Singapore’s First Listed SPAC
For the past couple of months, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have been making the headlines in Singapore. SPACs are essentially blank-cheque companies that are formed for the sole purpose of looking for another private company to merge with. Many...
An Investor’s Introductory Guide To Singapore SPACs
Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have been creating a buzz in the Asian market recently. Even though SPACs have been used as alternative investment vehicles in the West for decades now, it was only recently that they have come into vogue in many Asian...
Implications Of Singtel-Australia Tax Case On Transfer Pricing
Australia Tax Office (ATO) won a landmark court ruling against Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) on 17 December 2021, marking a victory in only the second substantive Australian transfer pricing case on cross border intra-company financing. Below is a timeline of...
SPAC Listing On SGX: The Key Criteria And Rules To Know Of
Effective 3 September 2021, Singapore now allows the listing of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), making the city-state among the first major bourses in Asia to allow blank-cheque companies to list. This new listing...
SPAC Mergers: Knowing How Your Business Can Benefit From It
As of 3 September 2021, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has become the first major bourse in Asia to allow special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) listings. Their listing rules for SPACs are now up the Mainboard, and it is a critical move that the city-state hopes...
3 Main GST Changes Businesses Must Prepare For Starting Now
Announced in Budget 2021, the Singapore Government announced their plans to extend the taxing of GST to low-value goods and imported remote services through the overseas vendor registration from 2023 onwards. This is to achieve equalness in GST whether the services or...
Understanding IRAS VDP And The Increasing Need For GST ASK
All companies in Singapore are required to file their tax returns every financial year. This filing of tax returns serves as a basis for the government to determine the income, expenses, and other significant tax information about an individual or company. Tax filing...
An Overview on Singapore’s GST Guidance In Times of COVID-19
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be felt by many sectors and industries in Singapore. The business sector, particularly, has been one of the hardest-hit sectors in the country, particularly affecting such industries as retail, food services,...
What Is There To Know About The Upcoming GST Rate Hike
It has been more than two decades since Singapore last increased its Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate from 5% to 7%. In Budget 2018, it was announced that the Singapore government was planning yet another rate hike, but the date when the increase would take place was...
Everything To Know About Transfer Pricing Documentation
Transfer pricing essentially occurs when multinational companies (MNCs) enter into buy and sell transactions or send loans to their related companies. The concept of transfer pricing may also cover the situation in which a parent company in Singapore pays management...
What The Upcoming GST Changes May Look Like For Businesses
In an effort to make a push towards buying local, the government plans to make certain changes and extensions when it comes to the GST (Goods and Services Tax). However, because of the current economic challenges, these plans have been postponed and will most like...
Updates To e-Tax Guide (6th Edition): Changes To Note
The process of transfer pricing is regulated by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). There are certain guidelines promulgated by IRAS that businesses need to follow when doing transfer pricing. These guidelines have already undergone several changes over...
Latest Updates To IVS, Effective From January 2022
URL: IVSC International Valuation Standards (IVS) serves as a key guide for valuation professionals internationally and will underpin transparency, consistency, and confidence in valuations that are crucial to financial reporting, investment decisions, and financial...
Valuation Of Your Business: Definition & Different Types
Business valuation lets businesses understand and unlock the true value of their owned assets. It is a method that accurately prescribes and describes a market value, which is the estimated number in which a liability or asset should be exchanged on the valuation date...
4 Common GST Errors & How To Steer Clear Of Them
Every business in Singapore should be familiar with the Goods and Services Tax (GST). While GST is applicable to the import and provision of most goods and services, there are also some goods and services that are exempt from GST, or zero-rated goods and services...
Understanding The Benefits Of GST ASKs For Businesses
Goods and Services Tax (GST) applies to almost all goods that enter and/or leave Singapore’s borders. However, your business may be experiencing cash flow constraints due to the import of goods through the customs because businesses have to pay input tax at the point...
How To Do Transfer Pricing: A Simplified Guide For Beginners
As multi-national companies transact or engage in international trade transactions between their parent and its related entities, such related party transactions are subject to tax authority’s scrutiny based on what we call the arm’s length principle, a concept that...
The Reason Why Valuation Of Your Business Is Important
Making profits is the primary objective of most business owners. They do this by spending a great amount of time and energy on developing growth plans with well-defined goals and smart business strategies. However, these plans and goals might be difficult to execute...
Transfer Pricing: Definition & Its Impact On A Business
Today, as businesses grow in complexity along their value and supply chain, they look to countries with cheaper resources or where there could be more favourable tax incentives or countries with low tax rates. Hence, as a business owner, it is essential to understand...
Applying or renewing Major Exporter Scheme
To date, we have performed more than 200 ASK (Assisted Self Help Kit) certification reviews for client applying or renewing for the Major Exporter Scheme (“MES”) in our capacity as Accredited Tax Advisor (GST). The common mistakes uncovered during the review are...
Voluntary or Compulsory GST registration?
If a company or limited liability partnership or sole proprietorship reasonably expect its turnover or revenue to be more than S$ 1 million in the next 12 months, then it is liable to apply for GST registration. IRAS do allow for voluntary GST registration if entities...
Transfer Pricing Documentation
A common question is, “when does transfer pricing occur.” It occurs typically when multi-national companies enter into sale and purchase transactions with their related companies, or loan to related companies. It can be also a situation, when a Singapore parent...
Cyber threats against Singapore businesses surge in 2019: CSA
The frequency and sophistication of various cyber threats such as website defacements, phishing incidents, and malware activities rose in Singapore last year, said a report published by the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore on Friday. Read More
Transfer Pricing Regimes for Developing Countries
Comprehensive anecdotal and academic evidence reveals that multinational enterprises (MNEs) transfer income from high-tax countries to low-tax jurisdictions to reduce their corporate tax burden. Political and public debates on the topic were recently reignited by the...
“Taxation Where Value is Created” and the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Initiative
Dealing with base erosion and profit shifting presupposes that it is known what this is. The concept of value creation claims to provide an answer as to where profits should be taxed and, therefore, when the tax base is being shifted. The OECD introduced value...
Planning for Multilateral Tax Controversy in the Post-BEPS World
All multinational groups (MNEs) are, should or will be addressing their existing international tax planning structures with respect to a new world that is rapidly changing in apparently dramatic ways. The process may be supervised at the level of the board of...
The Impact of the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project on the Task for Developing Countries of Applying the Arm’s Length Principle in Practice
The intention here is to assess the (highly practical) matter of whether the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project has helped, or alternatively hindered, the task for developing countries of applying transfer pricing rules pursuant to the arm’s length...
The Evolving World of Global Tax Planning: Part II
Part I of this three-part series addressed one of the considerations that MNEs may want to take into account when adapting their effective tax rate strategies (ETR strategies) in the evolving world of global tax planning.1 The current global tax environment,...
The Evolving World of Global Tax Planning: Part I
In the global community, the reigning paradigm seems to be political chaos. News updates in all media justifydeclare the seemingly ever-deepening divides in the world – wars in the Middle East, tension between the West and Russia, economic malaise in China,...
Country-by-Country Reporting and the International Allocation of Taxing Rights
In this article, I discuss the OECD country-by-country reporting (CbCR) requirements, the disconnect between CbCR and current tax policy, the potential benefits and costs of CbCR (including misinterpretations of the data), and what all of this might mean for the...
Increased Transfer Pricing Regulations: What about the Managerial Role of Transfer Pricing?
This article is based on a recently completed dissertation on the management accounting role of transfer pricing in an international environment. The research aims at narrowing the gap between “management accounting” and “fiscal” studies of transfer pricing. In...
Senior Tax Counsel’s Report
TRANSFER PRICING – A simple topic; some complex solutions! This week, in the spirit of The Tax Summit’s week of innovative and educational sessions, I thought I might try something a little different – a short, simple review for beginners of a complex topic. The topic...
IASB Releases Consultation on Goodwill and Impairment
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is exploring how to help investors hold companies to account for acquisitions and improve the accounting for goodwill. A Discussion Paper titled Business Combinations—Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment was released...
OECD Covid-19 Tax Treaty
On 3 April 2020, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published on its website an OECD Secretariat Analysis of Tax Treaties and the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis (the guidance). Governments around the globe are taking increasingly...
The “Unified” Fund Exemption Regime in Hong Kong
For over a decade, the Hong Kong SAR Government had been modifying the specific tax exemption regimes for investment funds (especially privately offered funds) with a view to attracting more funds and fund managers to establish themselves in Hong Kong. The journey...
Optimise Your Risk Identification and Management Processes by Blending External Company Information with Your Own Tax Data
Tax administrations have been facing pressure from the electorate and media to combat tax avoidance and profit shifting away from their jurisdictions. Responding to this, G20 countries through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the...
Overview of Tax Rules in Uzbekistan in 2019
In the sections that follow, we describe the most significant taxes in Uzbekistan. There are a number of other less significant or specific taxes, such as excise taxes and a number of taxes on “subsurface users” (i.e. oil, gas, and mining companies). It is important...
簡評台灣境外資金課稅概況暨新境外資金 匯回專法介紹
近年國際間反避稅、反洗錢、反資助恐怖主義及反貪腐呼聲高漲，各稅區政府愈加重視資訊交換，採行 如金融機構共同申報準則(Common Reporting Standard, CRS)、移轉訂價三層文檔等規定。台灣地區已通過 對法人的反避稅措施—受控外國公司(Controlled Foreign Company, CFC) 與實際管理處所(Place of Effective Management, PEM) 法令及個人CFC 條文作為配套。此外，免稅天堂經濟2019 年起陸續立法引進經濟實質新 規(Economic Substance...
The Impact of Tax-Related Incentives on Innovation: Evidence from China
In the past decade, China has astonished the world with its speedy transformation into an innovation superpower. It is of interest to understand the strategies that have been implemented by the Chinese Government to achieve the great advancements that have been made...
“BEPS 2.0” and the Future of Intra- Group Financing in Hong Kong
Under Hong Kong’s territorial tax system, only interest income that is derived from Hong Kong (or deemed as such) can generally be within the scope of Hong Kong Profits Tax. Hong Kong companies that lend overseas are in some cases not subject to Hong Kong Profits Tax...
A Critical Assessment of the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department’s Revised Departmental Interpretation and Practice Note No. 28 on the Deductibility of Foreign Tax
As a general rule, the well-informed Hong Kong tax practitioner tends to anticipate developments in Inland Revenue Department (IRD) departmental interpretation and practice notes (DIPNs) with a sense of dread and stoic resignation. In our well-worn cynicism, we assume...
Taxation of Carried Interest – View from Hong Kong
The tax treatment of carried interest (often referred to simply as “carry”) has been a contentious issue in Hong Kong for a number of years and one which has never been comprehensively addressed by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). In this article, we examine the...
A Review of Recent Board of Review Cases
This article will review the cases reported in the second and third supplements of Volume 33 of Board of Review Cases, which were published in April and July 2019, respectively. There are four profits tax cases, five salaries tax cases, one property tax case, one...
Budget Proposals 2019 – 20
The Hong Kong economy grew solidly in the first three quarters of 2018, with a 3.7% real GDP growth in the first three quarters of 2018 over a year earlier. Taking into account the various increasing downside risks in the external environment, the HKSAR Government...
Mauritius: An Investment Gateway to Africa for Chinese Companies
Abstract With its strategic geographic location between China and Africa and its stable regulatory environment, Mauritius looks set to strengthen its position as an investment gateway to Africa under China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. This article discusses the tax...
Rising Global Tax Controversies – A Business’s Best Plan for Managing Tax Controversies amid Greater Transparency and Scrutiny
In the current turbulent tax landscape, a good way for a business to stay ahead of controversy is to adopt a global perspective everywhere it operates while establishing a global tax controversy strategy that is integrated with a strong tax risk and corporate...
Tax Litigation and the System of Appeal in Pakistan
This article provides a critical analysis of the level of tax litigation and the appeal system in Pakistan. The author triggers a debate on the possible reasons for the increased tax litigation and the excessive pendency of tax appeal cases, especially in the high...
Managing China Customs and Trade in the Era of a New Global Trade Order and Industry 4.0
Global trade has attracted a lot of attention lately though regrettably most of the headlines are negative. The current global trade environment is arguably the most complex in modern history and protectionist sentiment is on the rise (e.g. the US-China trade dispute,...
The Uneasy Relationship between Permanent Establishments and Section 14 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance
I have previously written in this journal that all tax was, at its origin, territorial and that even residence-based systems of taxation have not thereby ceased to be territorial, but rather have merely expanded the nexus of territoriality to focus on the attributes...
Cost of Information and Life under the New Transfer Pricing Regime
Multinational enterprises (MNEs) ordinarily operate in a vertically integrated manner, but each 'profit centre' optimises its own profits. Transfer pricing (“TP”) policy is at the heart of this phenomenon as it determines how MNEs’ profits should be optimised in such...
New Tax Deduction of Three Additional Types of Intellectual Property Rights Reignites the Controversies Surrounding Sections 16EC(4)(b) and 39E(1)(b)(i) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance
Three New Types of Specified Intellectual Property Rights Now Eligible for Tax Deductions The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 5) Ordinance 2018 has recently been enacted to grant tax deductions for three new types of specified intellectual property rights (“IPRs”),...
A Review of Recent Board of Review Decisions
This article reviews the cases published in Volume 33 of the Inland Revenue Board of Review Decisions and its First Supplement. There are five cases on salaries tax and personal assessment, four cases concerning profits tax, and three penalty tax cases. All the...
Be Cool and Clear on the CPF Act
The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board has stepped up enforcement inspections on employers in recent years. Nearly S$2.7 billion in CPF arrears were recovered from employers within a five-year period from 2014 to 2018, whether through desktop audits, on-site audits or...
Tax Arrests And More
Promoting Tax Excellence by SIATPPage | 1Since the commencement of the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2018and the Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act 2018on 12 November 2018 and 1 January 2019 respectively, the power of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)...
Impact of COVID19 on BV – Global perspectives
The iiBV, in collaboration with the International Valuation Standards Council, (IVSC), Institute of Valuers and Appraisers, Singapore (IVAS), Duff & Phelps, and Leadenhall is pleased to present “Impacts of COVID 19 on Business Valuations - Perspectives from...