Singapore and Thailand Revise Their Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation
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- Category: Singapore News
Singapore and Thailand signed a new Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) on 11 June 2015. The signing took place in Singapore between Mr K Shanmugam, the Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs His Excellency Tanasak Patimapragorn.
The existing DTA between the two countries, signed on 15 September 1975, has been in force for more than thirty years. Among other changes, the new DTA lengthens the threshold period for determining the presence of a permanent establishment and lowers the withholding tax rates for dividends, interest and royalties. These changes are expected to enhance trade and investment flows between the two countries.
The full text of the new DTA is available HERE. The DTA will enter into force after its ratification by both countries.
Source: MOF
Vesak Day 2015
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- Category: Singapore News
Peace, harmony and loving-kindness to all. Happy Vesak Day!
* Our SINGAPORE office will be closed on 01/06/15 (Monday) for this Public Holiday.
CPF INTEREST RATES FROM 1 JULY 2015 TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2015
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- Category: Singapore News
CPF INTEREST RATES FROM 1 JULY 2015 TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2015
• Up to 3.5% per annum* on the Ordinary Account
• Up to 5% per annum*on the Special and Medisave Accounts
HDB MORTGAGE RATE FROM 1 JULY 2015 TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2015
• Remains unchanged at 2.6% per annum
Central Provident Fund (CPF) members will continue to earn interest rates of up to 3.5% per annum on their Ordinary Account (OA) monies, and up to 5% per annum on their Special and Medisave Accounts (SMA) monies in the third quarter of 2015.
The above interest rates include an additional 1% interest paid on the first $60,000 of a member’s combined balances (with up to $20,000 from the OA) which is part of the Government’s efforts to enhance the retirement savings of CPF members.
Interest Rate for Ordinary Account and HDB Mortgage Rate
The OA interest rate will be maintained at 2.5% per annum from 1 July 2015 to 30 September 2015, as the computed rate of 0.21% is lower than the legislated minimum interest rate.
Correspondingly, the concessionary interest rate for HDB mortgage loans, which is pegged at 0.1% above the OA interest rate, will remain unchanged at 2.6% per annum from 1 July 2015 to 30 September 2015.
Please refer to Annex A for the detailed computation of the OA interest rate and HDB mortgage rate.
Interest Rate for Special and Medisave Accounts
The SMA interest rate will be maintained at 4% per annum from 1 July 2015 to 30 September 2015, as the computed rate of 3.27% is lower than the current floor interest rate.
Please refer to Annex B for the detailed computation of the SMA interest rate.
Interest Rate for Retirement Account
The RA interest rate will be maintained at 4% per annum from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015, as announced on 25 November 2014.
Please refer to Annex C for the detailed computation of the RA interest rate.
*This includes the additional 1% interest paid on the first $60,000 of a member’s combined balances, of which up to $20,000 comes from the Ordinary Account (OA). The additional interest earned on OA monies will go to the member’s Special Account or Retirement Account, to enhance their retirement adequacy. If a member is above 55 years old and participates in the CPF LIFE scheme, the additional 1% interest will still be earned on his combined balances, which includes the savings used for CPF LIFE.
Public Enquiries
CPF members can visit www.cpf.gov.sg or call the CPF Call Centre at 1800-227-1188 for enquiries.
Source: CPF Board, HDB
CPF Board System Upgrade Notice
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- Category: Singapore News
Due to a system upgrading exercise, the CPF website will be unavailable intermittently from 16 May 2015 5:00pm to 17 May 2015 5:00pm (Singapore time).
As part of the upgrading exercise, CPF Board are making some changes to the design and the organisation of information on the website. The key changes include the relocation of Login button and the Business Partners page.
Upcoming foreign worker measures for the services sector
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- Category: Singapore News
The transition arrangement for quota cuts announced in 2013 will end on 30 Jun 2015. From 1 Jul 2015, services sector employers must keep their existing S Pass and Work Permit holders within the Dependency Ratio Ceilings (DRCs):
Main DRC of 40%
S Pass subDRC of 15%
PRC SubDRC of 8%
