The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017 was approved by the Singaporean lawmakers on 2 October 2017.The amendments to the Income Tax Act comprise of tax changes announced in the 2017 Budget.
According to the approved Bill existing corporate income tax rebate for 2017 will be increased by raising the limit from SGD20,000 (USD14,753) to SGD25,000 (USD18,441). However, the rebate percentage will be kept unchanged at 50 percent. The CIT rebate for the limit SGD 10,000 (USD 7,376) will also be extended to 2018 at 20 percent of tax payable.
From 2018, taxpayers may also apply for a tax deduction for the full amount of payments made under Cost Sharing Agreements for qualifying research and development projects, without the need for cost breakdowns.
According to the adopted Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017, businesses are now required to maintain Transfer Pricing Documentation(TPD) effective from the year of assessment 2019. The transfer pricing documentation must be prepared no later than the due date for filing the tax return and must contain the details required in the rules. A relevant entity will have to prepare and keep the transfer pricing documentation for at least 5 years from the end of the base period in which the transaction took place. Additionally, the same company will have to provide the tax authority with any transfer pricing documentation within 30 days from the date of the request. If the company fails to provide the documentation on time, the company will be guilty of an offence and will be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding SGD 10,000.