Usha Chandradas on Income Tax (Amendment) Bill

Looking at the proposed measures in totality, it appears that there is a push towards helping local charities to develop their expertise in supporting overseas charitable giving and towards growing philanthropic capabilities in Singapore, said NMP Usha Chandradas. Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 3), she said it is also clear that the Philanthropy Tax Incentive Scheme (PTIS) is primarily intended to allow family offices to obtain tax advantages in respect of their overseas giving. She said what could result is a race for donations, with local charities feeling as though they have a new source of competition for funding. She pointed out that charities in Singapore do not always have an easy time with fundraising. Using arts-based charities as an example, she said the PTIS can create some much-needed diversity in terms of funding sources. This diversity is important because an over-reliance on Government funding and subsidies in the arts is neither sustainable in the long term, nor is it desirable in terms of the substance and quality of artistic production. Moreover, foreign family offices setting up shop in Singapore will bring different ways of looking at the world, particularly in the context of arts charities. She hopes the Government will help to ensure that local charities and Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs) are well-poised to avail themselves of the new sources of philanthropic funding in Singapore. She wanted to know what steps are being taken to ensure that local charities and IPCs are not excluded from the benefits of the PTIS for family offices. She also stressed the need to show strong commitment to evolving international tax norms, and balance this commitment with the need to provide clarity to businesses which wish to engage in or with Singapore.