The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has issued an e-Tax Guide explaining the stamp duty changes introduced in the Government’s 2014 Budget on February 21, 2014.  In Singapore stamp duty is payable on instruments relating to the acquisition, disposal, lease or mortgage of real estate property, and on the acquisition or mortgage of stocks or shares. Budget 2014 switched the structure of the buyer’s stamp duty (BSD), share transfer duty, lease duty and mortgage duty from a Singapore dollar-based fixed rate structure to a percentage-based structure, effective February 22, 2014. In addition, with regard to lease duty, there are also changes to the basis of calculation to ensure consistency in stamp duty treatment across leases of different periods. From February 22, 2014, the BSD rates will be 1 percent for the first SGD180, 000, 2 percent for the next SGD180, 000, and 3 percent on amounts above this.