Goods and Services Tax in Singapore
Tax factsGoods and Services Tax (GST) is the principal indirect tax in Singapore (akin to value-added tax in other countries).
Country profile of Singapore
Fast facts about Singapore
Capital
Singapore
Currency
Singapore Dollar (SGD or S$)
Population
6.04 million
Land area
734.3 square kilometres
GDP
SGD 731.4 billion (approximately USD 570.2 billion)
GDP per capita
SGD 153,737 (approximately USD 94,400)
Imports
SGD 1,080 billion (approximately USD 841.8 billion)
Exports
SGD 1202.3 billion (approximately USD 937.3 billion)
In this page
An introduction to Singapore
Established in 1819 as a trading post for the East India Company, Singapore became a sovereign British territory in 1824, and grew to become a major trading hub for the East. While trade has remained a consistent economic driver, business services and a market-driven economy have become the distinguishing qualities that led Singapore to become the fourth largest business centre in the world.
Singapore’s economy is heavily dependent on exports, with a particular focus on electronics, technology and pharmaceuticals. The growth of the financial services sector has made it a notable financial hub in Asia Pacific. Since the inception of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Singapore has been a part of the WTO and has maintained low barriers to trade as part of its outward-looking open economy.
Singapore is one of the most welcoming countries in Asia for expatriates. The city-state has a low crime rate and offers a high quality of living.
Population and language
Resident population comprises 4 major ethnic groups
Chinese
74.3%
Malay
13.5%
Indian
9.0%
Other
3.2%
Singapore has four official languages:
- English (the language of administration)
- Malay (the national language)
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Tamil
The country has a literacy rate of 97.6% and more than 50% of the population is literate in 2 or more languages.
Business hours
Business hours are generally from 8.30am or 9.00am to 5.00pm or 6.00pm on Mondays to Fridays. This can be up to 1.00pm on Saturdays for government offices. Banks are open from 9.30am to 3pm on Mondays to Fridays and up to 1.00pm on Saturdays.
Time zone
Using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Singapore’s time zone is UTC+8. The country does not practice daylight savings.
Public holidays
There are 11 national gazetted public holidays. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be a public holiday.
Political and legal system
Singapore is a constitutional parliamentary republic citystate. Rated as the safest country in Asia, Singapore has a parliamentary system based on the British model.
The 3 organs of state comprise:
Economy
Singapore is an advanced, successful free-market economy, featuring an open and corruption-free environment. Globally connected, the country touts a pro-business environment with a strong and stable infrastructure to spur growth across industries.
In recent years, emerging alongside the traditional engines of growth in the manufacturing and financial/ business services, the economic landscape has moved
to one that promotes knowledge-based and research-intensive industries. At the same time, there has been a significant growth and development in the biomedical sciences, clean technologies and interactive digital media industries.
Geography and climate
The Republic of Singapore is made up of the main Singapore Island and some 54 islets. Some of these offshore islands have become oil refinery centres for the multinational petroleum companies while others, such as Sentosa, have been developed into a resort island offering recreation and entertainment.
Strategically located at the southernmost tip of the Asian continent, at the crossroads of the world’s global trading centres and in the heart of Asia, Singapore is the launch pad to the consumer driven emerging markets of Southeast Asia, China and India.
The country's climate is characterised by uniformly high temperatures and humidity. The average maximum temperature is 31.6°C and average minimum temperature is 25.2°C. Rain falls the whole year with the country seeing an average of 210 rainy days a year.
Living standards
Singapore is one of the most welcoming cities in Asia for expatriates. It is safe and orderly with clean and green surroundings. Living standards are high with excellent
facilities for shopping, sports and recreation. More than a dozen international schools cater to the needs of the expatriate community. Medical and healthcare service providers are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and the country ranks second globally in medical tourism.#
#‘Medical Tourism Index 2020-2021’, Medical Tourism Association, International Healthcare Research Center (IHRC)
More insights on doing business in Singapore
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Transfer pricing in Singapore
Tax factsAll related party transactions should be conducted at arm's length, ie as if parties were unrelated.
Withholding tax in Singapore
Tax factsWithholding tax is generally a final tax where the income in question is not derived from the provision of services.