Are convenient tax policies driving Singapore competitiveness?

A resounding yes as less tax processing requirements helped push the nation to the top of a World Bank competitiveness ranking.

The World Bank crowned Singapore as having the world's best business environment and Russell Bedford attributes this impressive result to a less fussy tax compliance regime.

"Businesses in Singapore are required to make only five separate tax payments per year – among the lowest for any economy in the world. Moreover, they spend an average of only 84 hours per year in doing so – less than half the time spent by businesses in OECD high-income economies (186 hours per year) and significantly below the East Asia and Pacific average of 215," notes Russell Bedford.

"Value added tax and corporate income tax entail the greatest compliance burdens, at 40 and 34 hours, respectively. Employer-paid social security contributions take only 10 hours per year – in contrast to the 55 hours per year necessary in the United States," it added.

“It is always a pleasure to see the competitiveness of Singapore’s business environment confirmed by such an authoritative survey. The country’s attractiveness applies as much to new business start-ups as to multinational businesses and international investors; the ease of business incorporation and tax registration has continued to deliver real benefits in retaining our leading position as a country for doing business,” said Douglas Tan, managing director of Steven Tan Russell Bedford PAC.