Singapore has a wide network of tax agreements. The articles collected here take the agreement with Switzerland as their worked example: its history, residence and the tie-breaker, permanent establishment, dividends, interest and royalties, capital gains, employment income, mutual agreement and exchange of information. The treaty position with other partners is summarised below with its date.
IRAS describes its list as covering around 100 jurisdictions, a figure that includes limited agreements and exchange-of-information arrangements. With Hong Kong and the United States there is only a limited agreement on income from ships and aircraft in international traffic. Agreements with the Kyrgyz Republic and Tanzania were signed in 2026 and are not yet in force.
Recent changes include the agreement with Kenya, in force since 20 April 2026 with lower rates from 1 January 2027, and the new agreement with Taiwan, in force since 13 February 2026 and effective from 1 January 2027.
Singapore charges no withholding tax on dividends, so a treaty matters mainly for interest at 15 per cent, royalties at 10 per cent and the tax charged in the other state. Many of the agreements have been modified by the multilateral instrument.
The agreement with Switzerland entered into force on 1 August 2012 and sets interest and royalties at 5 per cent. A protocol signed on 27 July 2017 brought it into line with the BEPS minimum standards.
Start with the agreement and its history, dividends, interest and royalties or residence and the tie-breaker.
The agreement and its history
The Agreement between the Republic of Singapore and the Swiss Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income was signed in Singapore on 24 February 2011. Read more Singapore · TaxResidence and the tie-breaker
A person is resident of a contracting state if he is liable to tax there by reason of domicile, residence, place of management or any similar criterion. Read more Singapore · TaxPermanent establishment
Article 5 defines a permanent establishment as a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on. Read more Singapore · TaxDividends, interest and royalties
The treaty reduces Swiss withholding tax on dividends from 35 per cent to 5 per cent where the beneficial owner is a company holding at least 10 per cent of the paying company's capital, and to 15… Read more Singapore · TaxCapital gains
Article 13 allocates gains from the alienation of immovable property to the state where the property is situated. Read more Singapore · TaxEmployment income across the hubs
Article 15 allocates employment income to the state where the employment is exercised. Read more Singapore · TaxMutual agreement and exchange of information
The mutual agreement procedure is open to a taxpayer who considers that the actions of one or both states result in taxation not in accordance with the agreement. Read more Singapore · TaxA closing comparison for the reader who must decide
This Part has shown a tax system that is generous to the investor, demanding of the trader, indifferent to the token as such and increasingly insistent on substance. Read more