Singapore: 2017 Budget Announced

Singapore’s finance minister announced the country’s FY 2017 budget on February 20. Here are some key points for multinationals doing business in Singapore. (For more detailed information, read our blog post on the budget.)

• The corporate income tax rebate remains at 50 percent for SMEs, but the cap will be increased from SGD$20,000 to $25,000 for FY2017.
• The corporate income tax rebate is extended for another year at 20 percent, with a cap at $10,000.
• Over $80 million of budget will be devoted to helping SMEs go digital under the SMEs Go Digital Program.
• Intellectual property development incentives will be introduced to encourage research and development.
• A carbon tax will be introduced in 2019, and there will be changes to the diesel tax.
• Singapore has proposed a review of the goods and services tax (GST) on imported digitized services.
• Additional special employment credit will be extended to businesses to retain older members of the workforce.