To promote charitable giving and
develop Singapore as an attractive hub for philanthropic
and other not-for-profit organisations, the Second Minister
for Finance Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced several
changes to the taxation and regulatory frameworks for
the charity sector in his 2007 Budget Statement.
2. The key changes announced were:
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a. |
The 80:20 rule for income tax exemption
for registered charities and exempt charities
will be removed from Year of Assessment 2008.
Charities will no longer need to spend at least
80% of their annual income receipts on charitable
objects in Singapore within 2 years in order to
receive income tax exemption. This will enable
charities to optimise their investments and use
of funds over time to sustain their charitable
programmes. |
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b. |
The 80:20 fund-raising rule that applies
to fund-raising appeals for foreign charitable
causes will be waived for private donations raised
by approved entities1, but retained
for donations raised from the general public.
Approved entities will no longer need to spend
in Singapore at least 80% of the private donations
raised for foreign charitable causes. This will
provide better support for the charitable work
of reputable organisations and grantmakers with
an international or regional orientation, while
ensuring that funds raised from the general public
goes primarily towards benefiting the Singapore
community. |
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c. |
Double tax deductions will be allowed
for donations to qualifying grantmaking philanthropic
organisations as long as the donations are channelled
to Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs) in
Singapore.
Donors will no longer need to donate directly
to local IPCs to enjoy double tax deduction on
their donations. They may choose to donate through
an intermediary who can facilitate a more structured
and sustained form of giving to local IPCs. |
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1These
include registered charities that can meet governance
standards set by the Commissioner of Charities office,
and not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) approved
under the NPO tax incentive scheme administered
by MAS and EDB. |
3. MOF and MCYS invite members of the public to give
their views on the following:
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The proposed guidelines to distinguish
between private donations and donations raised
from the public, so as to facilitate the waiver
of the 80:20 fund-raising rule for private donations.
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The proposed conditions to be applied to
qualifying grantmaking philanthropic organisations,
which would allow them to issue double tax deduction
receipts to donors for donations that are subsequently
channelled to local IPCs. |
4. The consultation paper on these changes is published
in the government’s consultation portal at http://www.reach.gov.sg,
as well as MOF’s website. Respondents may submit
their comments to MOF online or via the prescribed
template via email, fax or post.
5. The period for public consultation is from 18
July 2007 to 17 August 2007.
6. Please send us your comments to one of the following:
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i. |
Online Questionnaire 
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Email: mof_pc_philanthropy@mof.gov.sg |
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Fax: +65 6332 7435 |
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iv. |
| Address: |
Public Consultation
on Philanthropy Initiatives
Ministry of Finance
100 High Street, #10-01
The Treasury
Singapore 179434 |
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We encourage comments via online
questionnaire as these will reach us faster
and speed up the review process.
7. We will publish a summary of the key comments
we have received, together with our responses, on
this website by 30 September 2007. The summary will
not disclose the identity of respondents, and will
not separately address or acknowledge every comment
received.
8. The relevant documents for this public consultation
exercise can be found through the links below:
