Jamus Lim on Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) (Amendment) Bill

The Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) (Amendment) Bill is a reprise of the theme of making Singapore’s corporate tax environment more competitive in the aftermath of the rollout of BEPS 2.0, said MP Jamus Lim. Speaking in Parliament on Monday (Nov 11), he stressed the need to help small firms which are struggling under the burden of high and rising costs. He said tax relief will give them a “genuine shot” at growing and perhaps flourishing in the long run. He noted that the overarching economic objective of incentives offered via tax breaks is to encourage firms to expand their investments and scale up their operations in Singapore. The Government does require that a certain number of jobs be created as qualifying conditions for its schemes, but it is not known whether these jobs would have been created anyway, he said. He wanted to know if the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Finance have conducted rigorous studies that show how low effective tax rates are linked to job creation or spillover effects.