In Singapore, capitalists gain from redistribution too

MAKING businesses pay their fair share. That's one subject that the United States and China have found consensus on.

Last October, both joined over 130 jurisdictions to ink the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative (BEPS 2.0). Governments pledged to take on multinational enterprises (MNEs) charged with profiteering off workers, communities, and the environment.

In Singapore, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced plans to explore a Minimum Effective Tax Rate (METR) that tops up the effective tax rate of MNE groups in Singapore to 15 per cent, to bring the country's corporate tax regime in line with BEPS 2.0, signaling the private sector may have to shoulder more of the country's fiscal obligations.