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Individual tax planning in recent years have become an important element of preserving personal wealth and making investment decisions. This course is geared towards a general appreciation of the personal taxation issues one may face in wealth management of clients from various jurisdictions in the context of KYC/AML.

Target Audience

  • Financial advisers
  • Relationship manager
  • Private banker
  • Client on-boarding specialists
  • AML specialists

Course Objectives

  • Introduction to various types of taxes
  • The different tax systems in the world
  • Types of income and how they are assessed for tax
  • KYC challenges - Tax residency
  • Types of income remittance
  • AML challenges - Global tax highlights
  • Tax planning, avoidance and evasion
  • Common tax schemes in Singapore
  • Case studies

Course Outline

In Scope of Taxation

  • Distinguish the different tax systems i.e. Pure territorial based etc
  • Introduction to various types of taxes i.e. income tax, capital gains tax, and withholding tax etc
  • Understand how the tax residency of an individual and company is determined

KYC and AML issues on Tax Planning and Structures

  • Compare and contrast the different tax treatments for the sources of finances available to individuals
  • Understand the scope of taxability of Interest Income, Dividend Income, Taxable vs Tax Exempt Income and Capital Gains
  • Understand the differences between tax avoidance and tax evasion
    • Be aware of designation of tax crimes as money laundering predicate offences in Singapore
    • Recognise the scope of anti-tax avoidance provisions and the penalties of tax evasion
  • Appreciate that there are variations in the approaches to tax planning on investments, expenditures or measures given a particular financial context or jurisdiction.
  • Individual/client’s circumstances or stated objectives for tax planning purposes
  • Be aware of the current global issues in taxation and the importance of seeking professional tax advisory services

Case Studies

Case Studies of typical structures encountered by Wealth Managers and general comments on its tax implications:

  • Use of shell company for business activities
  • Cryptocurrency risks
  • Abuse of tax schemes
  • Other corporate structures deemed as tax evasion schemes