Expatriates In Singapore Can Qualify For 'NOR' Benefits

Expatriates already in Singapore can qualify for the Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR) Taxpayer benefits announced by DPM Lee Hsien Loong last Friday if they meet transition rules that would be put in place.

The Straits Times (May 9, 2002) carried an article, 'New tax plan not for expats already in Singapore', which stated that 'foreigners already living in Singapore will not be covered (by the NOR scheme)'.

New resident taxpayers can get NOR benefits for a period of 5 years if they had been non-residents for at least 3 years before that.

Under the transition rule, taxpayers who have been in Singapore for less than 5 years will be treated as though they had been given NOR status at the start of their stay here, if they had been non-residents for at least 3 years before that. This means expatriates already here may be entitled to a few years of NOR benefits, beginning from YA2003, depending on when they first came to Singapore.

IRAS will announce details of the NOR scheme in 3 months.

[The Budget Speech is available on www.budget2002.gov.sg]

MINISTRY OF FINANCE