STATUTES OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE (MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS) (NO. 4) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

3.21 p.m.

The Minister for Finance (Mr Hon Sui Sen): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Statutory bodies enjoy exemption from a number of taxes. However, there is no uniformity in respect of these exemptions. For example, some statutory bodies are exempted from stamp duty while others are not. Moreover, some of the statutory bodies have the exemption embodied in their own statutes, while other statutory bodies are granted exemptions under the parent legislation for the tax concerned.

The main tax concessions embodied in the statutes of a number of statutory bodies are exemption from income tax, exemption from property tax, conferment of "institution of a public character" status whereby donations to the institution from the public may qualify for income tax deduction, and exemption from stamp duty. This Bill seeks to delete all such tax concession provisions contained in the statutes of the various statutory bodies concerned.

In future, exemptions will be granted only under the appropriate tax legislation, namely, the Income Tax Act, the Property Tax Act and the Stamp Act. The centralisation of exemption under the parent legislation is logical and convenient and will enable any change in the policy on exemption to statutory bodies to be uniformly and comprehensively applied without the tedium of amending the Act for every statutory body.

Exemption from income tax for statutory bodies will be centralised under the First Schedule to the Income Tax Act. As for "institution of a public character" status, this will be conferred by a Gazette notification issued under section 37 of the Income Tax Act.

The policy regarding property tax is not to exempt statutory bodies from paying property tax.

Regarding stamp duty, the policy has been for some time that all statutory bodies should pay the stamp duty to reflect their true cost of operation. Any exemption will in future be considered only on the merits of each case, for example, as an economic incentive towards the development of a financial centre.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Hon Sui Sen].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.