WHILE jurisdictions elsewhere have introduced or are planning measures similar to Singapore’s new Refundable Investment Credit (RIC) scheme, the city-state’s strong track record and fiscal ability, alongside the details of the RIC, will help to boost its attractiveness, observers said.

Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech last Friday (Feb 16) announced a tax credit with a refundable cash feature to encourage companies to make sizeable investments that bring substantive economic activities to Singapore, in key economic sectors and new growth areas.

This comes ahead of a 15 per cent global minimum tax, under the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative (BEPS) 2.0.