Stamp duty will be imposed on electronic records that effect the transfer of ownership over immovable properties as well as stocks.
To ensure that Singapore’s tax rules keep pace with the rapidly changing technology, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) introduced several amendments to the Stamp Duties Act on Monday (6 Aug).
Under the proposed revisions, stamp duty will be imposed on electronic records that effect the transfer of ownership over immovable properties as well as stocks, said the Ministry.
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“Currently, transfers of immovable properties and shares are typically done via physical records, and stamp duty is levied where applicable.”
Aside from ensuring that the Singapore government is capable of continuously obtaining revenue from different sources such as asset transfer, the proposed amendments are expected to bring greater convenience.
For instance, one of the amendments will allow for the “E-Stamping system”, whereby the stamp duty and any penalty on an instrument can be paid via electronics fund transfer.
The other changes are technical amendments that aim to enhance tax policy and administration. These include making clear that the Finance Minister can recover interest from taxpayers who fail to fulfil the required terms for stamp duty remission.
Aside from that, there will be no change to the tax rates for property buyers and sellers. A copy of the proposed amendments can be viewed in this link
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Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
