* Singapore Improves Tax Incentives For Investment IndustrySingapore's Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Lee Hsien Loong has announced a range of tax and other initiatives aimed at spurring growth in the financial services and asset management industry in the 2006 budget, although the corporate tax rate has been left on hold at 20%.
Among the measures designed to promote the development of Singapore as a financial centre were enhanced tax incentives for asset and wealth management, capital and treasury markets, and captive insurance.
Measures to boost the maritime and logistics industries included a new Maritime Finance Incentive offering tax exemption for qualifying income of ship investment vehicles and a 10% concessionary tax rate for qualifying income of ship investment managers. Shipping companies will be allowed to renew their Approved International Shipping incentive for a third period of 10 years, lengthening the maximum period of incentive from 20 years to 30 years.
Lee also announced an enhanced tax environment for trust businesses, and a review of Estate Duty.
Another key initiative will be to reduce the record-keeping requirement for companies and individuals across 17 statutes, in most cases to just five years.
Although he refrained from cutting the 20% corporate tax rate, Lee emphasised the government's commitment to low taxation to attract investments and skilled workers. He added that the major taxes were "at about the right levels" following the extensive tax restructuring over the last five years.
Singapore’s personal and corporate income tax regimes are among the most competitive in the world, although corporate tax remains higher than in Hong Kong - Singapore's main rival for the crown of East Asia's premier financial hub - where corporate tax is 17.5%.