The New America

Government of Singapore ^ | Singapore

[BillM]

Singapore Income Tax System & Tax Rates

Investors turn to Singapore for establishing their operations for several reasons. The ease of setting up and operating businesses is a prime motivator. Another central determinant is Singapore’s tax regime – well-known for its attractive corporate and personal tax rates, tax relief measures, absence of capital gains tax, one-tier tax system, and extensive double tax treaties.

Persons, including corporations, partnerships, trustees and bodies of persons carrying on any trade, profession or business in Singapore are chargeable to tax on all profits (excluding profits arising from the sale of capital assets) arising in or derived from Singapore and certain foreign-sourced income from such trade, profession or business.

Current Tax Rates in Singapore

Corporate Tax Rates (for more details, see Singapore Corporate Tax Guide)

Income		Tax Rate
Tax rate on corporate profits for up to 300,000 SGD		8.5%
Tax rate on corporate profits above 300,000 SGD		17%
Tax rate on capital gains accrued by the company		0%
Tax rate on dividend distribution to shareholders		0%
Tax rate on foreign-sourced income not brought into Singapore		0%
Tax rate on foreign-sourced income brought into Singapore		0 – 17% subject to conditions

Personal Tax Rates (for more details, see Singapore Individual Tax Guide)

Income		Tax Rate
Tax rate on first 20,000		0%
Tax rate on next 10,000		2%
Tax rate on next 10,000		3.5%
Tax rate on next 40,000		7%
Tax rate on next 40,000		11.5%
Tax rate on next 40,000		15%
Tax rate on next 40,000		17%
Tax rate on next 120,000		18%
Tax rate on above 320,000		20%
Tax rate on capital gains		0%
Tax rate on income earned overseas		0%
Tax rate on dividends received from Singapore company		0%

http://www.guidemesingapore.com/taxation/topics/singapore-tax-rates

[BillM]

This is how to do it!

[who knows what evil?]

...so easy to understand, even a caveman could figure his own taxes...

Most excellent post!

[Sequoyah101]

As with most things in Singapore, I could live with it.

The U.S. and its mongrel population will never return to sanity. The great experiment has turned to excrement and is over and the inmates have taken control of the asylum.

Education has dumbed down the society and it is ignorant of understanding what it takes to be free.

We are headed for the dustbin of history.

[Buckeye McFrog]

If you can live with Michael Bloomberg levels of micromanagement of your personal decisions (don’t chew gum, and flush that urinal or we’ll cane you) I’ve heard it’s just a dandy place.

[freeandfreezing]

It is never as simple as that. Before you can apply any "income" tax you have to determine what the "income" is. That may seem simple if you only have income from a paycheck, but it is way more complicated once you have to determine what the income is from a business or investment.

For example, if a business buys a new lathe in October how much of what they paid for it is an offset against their income for that year? All of what they paid, 1/6th of what they paid, 1/60th of what they paid, or some other number?

If a business spends all of their profits to buy new merchandise do they have any income? If so how is it measured - what the inventory cost or what it is worth at the end of the year?

[BillM]

How long have you lived in Singapore?
This is not factual!

[BillM]

Follow the link. It is the simplest system you will ever see.

[freeandfreezing]

First off, while the link is titled "Government of Singapore" that's not where it goes. The actual web site is from Janus Corporate Solutions. It doesn't look much different from any other income tax complexity wise.

And it lists plenty of other taxes too, like the 7% Goods and Services Tax.

Lower tax rates are good, but taxation is never as simple as the proponents of "simple" systems say it is.

[BillM]

Sorry

Singapore IR By the way, it takes about 15 minutes total to pay your taxes.

[freeandfreezing]

It looks like their instructions are better written than ours, and certainly the IRS could learn from Singapore about how to design forms and instructions. But the overall situation as to the determination of income is similar.

Take the expense related to the purchase of capital goods for a business, here is just one part of the summary document related to vehicles:
"From Year of Assessment 2009, most of the fixed assets purchased would qualify for the three years write-off. For Year of Assessment 2008 and before, three years write-off is allowed for all qualifying assets except motor cars, motor cycles & light goods vehicles weighing 3,000 kilograms and below. The full cost of the asset will be claimed as capital allowance over three years."

Sounds like it could be a summary of a part of our own rules for vehicle deductions, and close to the same level of complexity.

All taxing systems impose a dead weight and lost productivity on society along with their real cost. Singapore does not look like an example of a low tax environment, except as it is related to capital gains and dividend taxation.

But it is a nice place and has a better tax climate than a lot of other places.

[Cyber Liberty]

The profit tax rates are still progressive. it’s “better” than the US only in terms of degree. That puts them one law away from being just as bad as the US.