Singapore does not impose a general capital gains tax. Gains on the disposal of capital assets – such as shares or property held as long-term investments – are normally not taxable.
There are two important qualifications. First, if the gains are considered revenue in nature – because you are effectively trading, judged on factors such as frequency of transactions, holding period, financing and motive (the ‘badges of trade’) – they are taxed as ordinary income, not treated as capital gains.
Second, from 1 January 2024, Section 10L of the Income Tax Act taxes gains from the sale or disposal of foreign assets that are received in Singapore, where the entity does not have adequate economic substance in Singapore, or where the gains arise from a foreign intellectual property right. Entities with adequate substance can fall within an excluded-entity treatment.
So the general position remains that Singapore has no capital gains tax, but the trading test and Section 10L both need to be considered. Apexia can assess how a proposed disposal would be treated.