Latest News in Singapore

Singapore and the United Kingdom Sign Agreement for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information

TaxationBy Abigail YuSeptember 26, 2016

Singapore and the United Kingdom Sign Agreement for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (“IRAS”) and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”) signed a Competent Authority Agreement (“Agreement”) on the automatic exchange of financial account information (“AEOI”) based on the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”) on 16 September 2016. The…

Singapore Corporate Access (CorpPass)

TaxationBy Abigail YuSeptember 26, 2016

What is Singapore Corporate Access (CorpPass)? Singapore Corporate Access or CorpPass is a single corporate digital identity for business users to conduct Government-2-Businesses (G2B) transactions. CorpPass will be progressively rolled out from Sep 2016 to Dec 2017, with more digital services added in each phase. It will replace SingPass/EASY and agency-issued login IDs for businesses…

Singapore and Australia to Share Data to Reduce Tax Evasion

Regulatory and BusinessBy Abigail YuSeptember 15, 2016

Singapore and Australia to Share Data to Lower Tax Evasion The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (“IRAS”) and the Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) have entered into a Competent Authority Agreement (“Agreement”) on the automatic exchange of financial account information (“AEOI”) based on the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”). The CRS is an internationally agreed standard for…

Total debt servicing ratio rules tweaked for refinancing of existing home loans

Regulatory and BusinessBy Abigail YuSeptember 5, 2016

Total Debt Servicing Ratio(TDSR) Rules Tweaked for Refinancing of Existing Home Loans Existing home owners looking to refinance their home loans will enjoy more flexibility with relation to the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR), the Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Thursday (Sept 1) The move will allow property owners to take advantage of current…

New Conditions for Factory-Converted Dormitories from 1 January 2017

Regulatory and BusinessBy Abigail YuAugust 27, 2016

New Conditions for Factory-Converted Dormitories From 1 January 2017 by MOM All operators of Factory-Converted Dormitories (FCDs) must meet four new conditions imposed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) when seeking approvals or renewals to use their industrial premises to house foreign workers, from 1 January 2017. This follows MOM’s call earlier this month to…

MOM dismantles syndicate involved in the illegal importation of labour

Regulatory and BusinessBy Abigail YuAugust 27, 2016

Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Dismantles Syndicate Involved in the Illegal Importation of Labour The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) mounted an island-wide enforcement operation from 26 to 27 July 2016 against a syndicate involved in bringing in foreign workers for illegal employment. The operation lasting more than 48 hours took place at several locations including offices,…

New Regulatory Measures to Further Raise the Audit Quality Bar

Regulatory and BusinessBy Abigail YuAugust 27, 2016

New Regulatory Measures to Further Raise the Audit Quality Bar by ACRA New regulatory measures will be introduced to ensure auditors in Singapore continue to uphold high audit quality standards. The new regulatory measures were developed following a review by ACRA of audit inspection insights gleaned from a decade of audit inspections conducted under its…

Singapore and Ethiopia Sign Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation

TaxationBy Abigail YuAugust 27, 2016

Singapore and Ethiopia Sign Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation (DTA) Singapore signed an Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation (DTA) with Ethiopia on 24 August 2016. The signing took place in Singapore between Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) Mr S. Iswaran and Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tedros Adhanom. The DTA clarifies…

Update to Employment Pass Salary Criteria

Regulatory and BusinessBy Abigail YuJuly 27, 2016

Update to Employment Pass Salary Criteria From 1 January 2017, the qualifying salary for Employment Pass (EP) applications will be raised from $3,300 to $3,600. This change is part of the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) regular updating of the EP qualifying salary to keep pace with rising local wages, maintain the quality of our foreign…

Important Information on Filing of XBRL Financial Statements with ACRA

Regulatory and BusinessBy Abigail YuJuly 27, 2016

Important Details of Information on Filing of XBRL Financial Statements with ACRA XBRL Filing Errors: Requirement to Ensure Accuracy and Completeness of XBRL Financial Statements Filed with ACRA Companies filing XBRL financial statements with ACRA are reminded to ensure that the information filed is accurate and complete. This requirement, as detailed in Practice Direction 1…