Discovery of Tax Loophole of Non-bare Trusts

Ms Hazel Poa asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) how was the tax loophole of non-bare trusts discovered; and (b) when was it discovered.

Mr Lawrence Wong: This issue was addressed during the Second Reading of the Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill 2022. As explained, trusts can be set up for different reasons and involve highly complex arrangements. MOF looked into this as part of our periodic policy review and did a thorough study into the issues before deciding to move on the legislative amendments.