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A properly-structured Singapore
company is an attractive, tax-efficient corporate vehicle through
which international business can be conducted. The following will
help you determine whether Singapore company
formation is the optimum solution to fulfill your
international business objectives:
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Advantages of
Singapore Company Formation |
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1.
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A Singapore company is not
perceived to be an offshore company in an international tax haven.
Singapore is a reputable, highly regulated, international trading
jurisdiction. Singapore is positively ranked as the fourth least
corrupt country in the
2007 Corruption Perceptions Index
by
Transparency International,
a global measure of corruption amongst public officials and
politicians.
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2.
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Because of the positive image of
Singapore company formation, it is
an excellent corporate vehicle to promote to customers, suppliers,
investors, venture capitalists, governments and banks etc.
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3.
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A properly-structured
Singapore company is legitimately tax-exempt on profits earned
outside Singapore, as outlined by the
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.
Furthermore, the first S$200,000 (US$142,000) of corporate profits
earned in Singapore is tax exempt for the first three years of
trading.
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4.
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A Singapore company enjoys
access to
double taxation treaties
with 54 countries including
Japan, China,
Germany, France, the UK and Canada to support
Singapore company formation.
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5.
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Singapore is a highly
competitive economy. Singapore is positively ranked as the world's
second-freest economy in the Heritage Organisation’s
2007 Index of Economic Freedom,
a measure of freedom enjoyed in business, trade, monetary,
financial, investment and labour markets.
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6.
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Singapore company formation is simple and cost-effective.
According to the
World Bank's Doing Business 2008 Survey,
Singapore is the world's easiest
place to do business. The survey measures factors including business
start up procedures, time, cost and minimum capital required to
start a business.
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7.
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8.
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Following Singapore company
formation, an annual statutory financial audit is not required if
corporate turnover/sales is less than S$5 million (US$3.54 million).
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9.
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It is easy to open global corporate bank accounts to support
Singapore company formation. Healy
Consultants works with internationally recognised banks such as
HSBC,
Standard Chartered
and
Citibank
to provide corporate bank account services.
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10.
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11.
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According to the
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS),
a Singapore company is obliged to register for goods & sales tax (GST)
if annual sales exceed S$1 million (US$708,000). GST registration by
a non-resident Singapore company enjoys GST refunds from the
Singapore government.
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12.
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13.
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Singapore is
technologically advanced and positively ranked as the top country in
Asia in the World Economic Forum's
2006-2007 Network Readiness Index.
This index measures the ability of a country to adopt and benefit
from information and communications technology (ICT).
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15.
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Singapore is the most
cost-competitive nation listed in KPMG's
2006 Competitive Alternatives
survey, which provides a comparison of business costs in the world's
major economies.
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Disadvantages
of Singapore Company Formation |
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1.
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In accordance with Section
145 (1) of the
Singapore Companies Act 1963,
every Singapore company must appoint at least one director who is
ordinarily resident in Singapore.
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2.
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