SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Ministry of Finance has published responses it received from stakeholders as part of the public consultation on the draft Income Tax (Amendment No. 3) Bill 2016.
The draft Bill, which was released in July 2016, provides for the implementation of tax measures announced at Budget 2016; measures arising from the periodic review of the income tax system; and provisions to introduce a country-by-country reporting requirement in Singapore.
The Ministry said it received a total of 48 suggestions, 22 of which were accepted. The remaining suggestions were not accepted, as they were inconsistent either with the legislative drafting conventions or the policy objectives of the proposed legislative changes, the Ministry said.
According to the Ministry, most of the feedback received focused on the following tax changes: the introduction of the Business and Institute of a Public Character Partnership Scheme; the introduction of a specific anti-avoidance mechanism for writing down allowances on intellectual property rights transfers; and the allocation of pre-commencement expenses to income streams that are assessed to tax under different tax rates. The suggestions accepted will be incorporated into a forthcoming amendment Bill.
