Citizens of 5 Countries to pay same stamp duty as Singaporeans

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Frankly, I don't and I think that this is good knowledge for all of us.

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Citizens of 5 countries to pay same stamp duty as Singaporeans

By Jonathan Kwok from Straits Times

CITIZENS of five countries that have free trade deals with Singapore, including the United States and Switzerland, will be treated as Singaporeans for the purposes of the new stamp duty measures.

When they buy a private home, Americans, Swiss and nationals from Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland will be treated the same as Singapore citizens, the taxman said in a guide on Wednesday.

This will enable them to avoid the new 10 per cent additional buyer's stamp duty that foreigners now have to pay when they buy a private home.

Free trade agreements usually ensure that a country's citizens are accorded certain trade protections when they are in the partner nation.

The Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD), as the new levy is called, was announced by the Government on Wednesday and hits foreigners hardest. They have to pay an additional stamp duty of 10 per cent when buying a home.

But the foreigners from these five countries can apply for remission or relief.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) website says they must provide identification, acceptance to option to purchase/sale, the purchase agreement and the ABSD declaration form.

Under the new rules, permanent residents (PRs) buying a second and subsequent property will pay an additional 3per cent stamp duty, while Singaporeans buying their third or subsequent homes must pay an extra 3per cent.

The rule is also that for purchases made by two or more parties with mixed residency status, such as a Singaporean with PR, the higher rate will be imposed.

But IRAS also gave examples of situations where remissions can apply. These are in cases where married couples have mixed residency status.

For example, a PR who currently owns a property while his Singaporean spouse owns none can apply for relief from the additional stamp duty when they co-purchase a home.

In another scenario, a PR and a Singaporean spouse co-own a property. When they next jointly buy a property, they can apply to be exempt from the 3 per cent levy.

The relevant documents have to be submitted to IRAS. Relief will also be provided for qualifying developers.

IRAS also said that people who want to downgrade from private housing to an HDB flat will be allowed a concessionary period to sell their private residential properties. The application for relief in such cases can be made through the HDB.

More details about the relief schemes can be found in the ABSD e-Tax guide, which can be downloaded from www.iras.gov.sg/irasHome/page04.aspx?id=910.

Source: Singapore Law Watch

US, Swiss citizens can avoid new Singapore stamp duty - Paper
By Business.AsiaOne

SINGAPORE - Citizens of five countries, including the United States and Switzerland, could avoid paying the additional stamp duty when they purchase a property in Singapore due to tax treaties with the city-state, the Straits Times reported on Friday.

Similar treatment will also be accorded to citizens of Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland, who will be treated the same as Singapore citizens, the paper quoted the tax department as saying.

Singapore announced new measures on Wednesday to cool its housing market, saying foreigners who buy private homes will have to pay an additional stamp duty equal to 10 per cent of the property value.

Many Singaporeans have blamed an influx of foreigners from China and other locations for driving up the costs of living in Singapore.

Foreigners accounted for 18 per cent of new home units sold in Singapore in the third quarter this year, exceeding the previous peak of 15 per cent in 2007, Citigroup said in a research note.

Source: Business AsiaOne