Singapore, Korea sign tax updated treaty lowering withholding tax rates

The governments of Singapore and South Korea today signed an updated tax treaty, Singapore’s Ministry of Finance has announced.

The new treaty would replace a treaty that entered into force in 1979 treaty and a protocol that entered into force in 2013.

The new Singapore-Korea tax treaty would lower the withholding tax rate for royalties to 5 percent. It also expands the scope of capital gains tax exemption.

The agreement is not yet ratified and thus does not have the force of law.