Singapore pushes tax incentives to attract foreign owners

The Singapore government is quietly developing a new incentive plan for the ship registration system to provide new tax incentives to attract foreign shipowners to transfer their ships to Singapore. Details of the plan will be announced in May. The Minister of Finance Shang Damian once stated in public that as long as the shipowner is willing to come up with a qualified document or certificate of foreign loan financing for the purchase or purchase of a foreign or Singapore flag ship, he also confirms that the Singapore flag will be hung after the launch of the new ship. The company will be automatically exempt from withholding tax.

The international shipowners and the shipping industry believe that Singapore’s move is aimed at attracting shipowners to Singapore’s registered ships by reducing the expected red tape and implementing new tax incentives to further increase the international status and display strength of the Singapore shipping center. The signboard of the Singapore International Shipping Center is affixed with genuine "gold paint." Experts familiar with international taxation said that the real purpose of Singapore’s policy is to show that their determination to promote is ambitious and ambitious.

The lawyer Lin Bingfa, who provides complete taxation consultancy services for Singapore companies except for double taxation treaty countries, said that the 15% pretax withholding tax applicable to loans and interest can accept the practice of lenders who are not Singapore natives and is both innovative and bold. The premise is to assume that other countries do not belong to the double taxation treaty.

And Su Wenyi, a KPMG corporate tax consulting partner, stated that there is no doubt that this policy encourages more ship owners to settle in Singapore or register ships.

She pointed out: “Automatic withholding of tax exemptions and eligible loan interest will indirectly reduce financing costs.” “Given the significant quantum of loans involved in the shipping industry, the financing costs of these operators are substantial. Once implemented, they will naturally have Certainly attractive."

Indirectly reduce the cost of financing Chen Likun, a tax partner of Ernst & Young, said that prior to this, the shipping company must apply to the Ministry of Finance of Singapore to exempt this tax. "Before this change, the grant of withholding tax exemption was handled on a case-by-case basis, which meant that each loan would have to be approved according to the due process." She explained, "If the new policy is implemented, the biggest change It eliminates this burden."

The new awards program for the Singapore Maritime Department also involves the modification of the currently implemented Chartered International Shipping Enterprise Plan (AIS), which exempts those multinational carriers from taxation on freight or charter revenue earned by foreign flag ships in Singapore.

It is reported that the new plan extends the exemption of this tax exemption to smaller shipping companies and sets a five-year immovable period. Based on this assumption, five years later, these companies will be qualified to obtain a large enough major. new plan.

Zhang Songsheng, president of the Singapore Shipping Association, urged the government to adopt flexible practices based on the cyclical changes in the shipping industry during the five-year cycle.

According to Chen Likun, tax expert of Ernst & Young’s accounting firm who has a five-year unchangeable period, it is impossible to predict whether the group of small and medium-sized shipping companies will grow stronger after the five-year cycle has passed. “For some companies, exemptions from taxation will help them increase their strength and formally become part of the AIS rewards program. But for some companies, it will only mean that they cannot continue to enjoy tax benefits.” She said: "In other words, this type of company's foreign flag ships will be restored to the standard corporate taxable tax rate category."

Mr. He Meipeng, partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Certified Public Accountants, also talked about his opinion. Although the details are still being clarified, it is very likely that these companies have very few ships and staff. The business spending of these companies in Singapore is likely to be lower than those of multinational companies.

Ho also believes that this is very important for potential foreign applicants. They are all keen on this “mini-AIS” incentive, and this incentive needs a clear development plan and prospect because it does not apply to those Anyone can relax standards on the basis of qualifications. In the long run, we hope to operate at the same level.

However, Insett's Singapore office is responsible for Martin, the head of the vessel financing department. Brown thinks that Singapore's determination to become an international shipping center is very clear. It will redouble its efforts to help newcomers.

He also stated that "the possibility of success - or failure, will be highly dependent on several variables. However, I believe that the Singapore government will closely monitor the implementation of the maritime sector and the effectiveness of the policy, and annually modify the relevant conditions according to market conditions. plan."