OSOME

You’re in Singapore under Employment Pass and thinking about setting up a company in Singapore. Congratulations! Here’s what you need to do.

Can I incorporate if I have an Employment Pass?

Sure. There are two options: you can be only a shareholder in your company if you don’t want to change your status. You can’t have another official role in your company in this case.

Or you can be a director. For that, you need to get a new Employment Pass (EP) issued per your new company. It’s best if you are not a shareholder in this scenario to ensure receiving an EP. You’ll have to leave your current employer, too.

Changing your Corporate Secretary seems tedious, but in reality, it’s quite straightforward with the help of a good agent. We review the process, the reasons, and the necessary steps to replace your existing CorpSec with a better one.

Why change?

There are several red flags that tell you your current Corporate Secretary is not doing a good job:

• You have to wait for answers to your questions and requests for days, and follow up with reminders
• You do not receive advice on regulation regarding your business, and when you do it’s often unclear
• You are unhappy with the price you pay for the service you get
• You have suffered fines and penalties that a Corporate Secretary should have mitigated or avoided

If you recognize any or all of these signs, consider switching to a new service.

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Singapore is famous for its attractive corporate tax rates. We explain how it works in a snapshot.

Tax Framework

Singapore follows a territorial basis for corporate tax.

Tax Residency. To benefit from Singapore tax system, your company has to be a tax resident. That means that control and management have to be exercised in Singapore, for example, the board of directors’ meetings and making strategic decisions.

Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements. Singapore has DTAs with nearly a hundred countries in the world, so you avoid being taxed twice on certain types of cross-border income.

Tax Exemptions for SME

These exemptions are broadly available to Singapore companies. The only exceptions are companies with only corporate shareholders, more than 20 shareholders, investment holding and property development companies.