Singapore Expats

My husband has just had a successful first interview for a Director position in Singapore.
I have read that Company Directors are required to pay a much higher income tax (20/22%) - is this just applicable for those who are on the Board of Directors and not, for example, for a Sales Director?
Many thanks

It only applies for 'director's fees'. Unlikely to apply to a salaried sales director.

PNGMK wrote:It only applies for 'director's fees'. Unlikely to apply to a salaried sales director.

Thanks for this, tax bands certainly don’t seem as high as the UK

Tax is cheaper, but School fees are a killer, rent is high and cars are prohibitively expensive. Try to get the company to pay as many of these as you can, but be aware most of us here have none of these things paid for.

The Ref wrote:Tax is cheaper, but School fees are a killer, rent is high and cars are prohibitively expensive. Try to get the company to pay as many of these as you can, but be aware most of us here have none of these things paid for.

I’ve been having a look at . and rent seems extremely expensive, definitely something we will have to factor in.
We are both so used to owning a car as well, obviously we won’t be buying one there but is it possible to lease something half decent for under $2k/month?

Possiblymovingtosing wrote:My husband has just had a successful first interview for a Director position in Singapore.
I have read that Company Directors are required to pay a much higher income tax (20/22%) - is this just applicable for those who are on the Board of Directors and not, for example, for a Sales Director?
Many thanks

Your information is not correct. For normally resident directors, ie, a person in Singapore on an EP working in Singapore, directors fees are taxed at exactly the same rate as all other forms of active (earned) income. I am assuming that you are moving to Singapore based upon your nick, "Possiblymovingtosing".

However, even someone with the title of director (which has a legal definition in Singapore) is usually paid a combination of salary and fees... fees are generally paid only for special situations... bonuses, AGM/EGM's, directors meetings, etc. But, it still doesn't matter for taxation purposes.

It is a non-resident director, ie, someone who is a company director but lives in a different country that is taxed at the 22 percent rate, and, that tax is deducted and sent to IRAS before the compensation is forwarded to the director.

Possiblymovingtosing wrote: I’ve been having a look at . and rent seems extremely expensive, definitely something we will have to factor in.
We are both so used to owning a car as well, obviously we won’t be buying one there but is it possible to lease something half decent for under $2k/month?

Depending on where you live rentals aren't so bad these days, certainly still a renters market and any numbers you see are negotiable. Spend some time here looking before you commit to a place.

And don't rush into getting a car, public transport is very good and there is Uber and Grab. You may find you can live pretty happily without a car. Sg is a pretty small place.

I agree that cars are quite unnecessary in Singapore. Nice to have but definitely not a need.

Just Uber, Grab or Taxi if you need to.

Strong Eagle wrote:

Possiblymovingtosing wrote:My husband has just had a successful first interview for a Director position in Singapore.
I have read that Company Directors are required to pay a much higher income tax (20/22%) - is this just applicable for those who are on the Board of Directors and not, for example, for a Sales Director?
Many thanks

Your information is not correct. For normally resident directors, ie, a person in Singapore on an EP working in Singapore, directors fees are taxed at exactly the same rate as all other forms of active (earned) income. I am assuming that you are moving to Singapore based upon your nick, "Possiblymovingtosing".

However, even someone with the title of director (which has a legal definition in Singapore) is usually paid a combination of salary and fees... fees are generally paid only for special situations... bonuses, AGM/EGM's, directors meetings, etc. But, it still doesn't matter for taxation purposes.

It is a non-resident director, ie, someone who is a company director but lives in a different country that is taxed at the 22 percent rate, and, that tax is deducted and sent to IRAS before the compensation is forwarded to the director.

Just to clarify what is and that isn't a "director" in Singapore: If a person is listed as a director with the ACRA (Accounting and Regulatory Authority of Singapore), then that person has fiscal and legal responsibilities with respect to all civil and criminal matters in which the company might find itself involved. Typically, there will be a managing director, plus zero or more additional directors who sit on the board of directors and are responsible for all decisions that the company makes. They are the ones at personal and corporate risk for the acts of the company.

Now, lots of companies have a sales director, or a director of IT, but unless this person is registered with ACRA as a company director, it's only a title, and could just as easily be the Great Poobah of Sales. So, unless your husband is going to be registered as a director and sit on the board of directors, then directors fees don't enter into the equation anyway, and there are no such things as Great Poobah fees.

SE, I started typing a reply last night to answer that on the different "Directors" here in Title Happy Singapore. Then I figured you would see it and as your prose is so much better than mine, I deleted it.

sundaymorningstaple wrote:SE, I started typing a reply last night to answer that on the different "Directors" here in Title Happy Singapore. Then I figured you would see it and as your prose is so much better than mine, I deleted it.

Aye... and I could add that it doesn't matter if the actual registered directors titles are CEO, vice-president, president, etc... if they are listed at ACRA as directors, they could have a title of chief cod walloper and still be a director.