![]() STEPPING UP - ISSUE 21 (29 July 2013) |
|||||||||
COMMITTEE NEWS: | |||||||||
Chairman's Message |
|||||||||
For the benefit of the members who were unable to join us at the AGM, the new Branch committee members, nominated and voted into office are: I will also like to take this opportunity to welcome Chee Fang Theng on board as a new committee member. Fang Theng is no stranger to many of us. She has had prior involvement with the Branch activities. You can read about her profile in the current edition of our newsletter. In addition, the MAS has reached out to STEP and asked if we would like to submit our views on recent public consultation paper on amendments to the income Tax Act to incorporate changes to our Exchange of Information regime. The deadline to submit our response is 31 July and please do send your comments to the Secretariat. The Branch’s highlight for 2013 is the annual STEP Asia Conference taking place in Singapore on 12 to 14 November. In anticipation for larger group of participates, the venue for this year’s conference is at the Marina Bay Sands. The conference has a regional focus covering onshore issues for families, trends in succession planning and case laws analysis of Hong Kong and Singapore. |
|||||||||
Update to Members - Council Meeting in London on 19 April 2013 | |||||||||
Please find appended below the report by Angelo Venardos, representative for South East Asia on STEP Worldwide Council, who attended the Council Meeting in London April 2013 on behalf of the Singapore branch. [View Report] Contributed by Angelo Venardos, Council Member Representative for South East Asia, STEP Worldwide |
|||||||||
INDUSTRY NEWS & UPDATES: |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
“Up Close & Personal” – Interview with Ms. Chee Fang Theng | |||||||||
Getting to know Fang Theng The book I am currently reading is ... ‘What do you care what other people think?’ By Richard Feynman. This book even got me interested in physics. The person(s) who have been my biggest influence is ... My father, because he leads by example: for his hard work (he’s still working even now), loyalty and dedication (he’s been with the same company for over 43 years), and his love and care of the family (he’s never been too busy to find time for us, he just makes it up by doing everything and sleeping less). What I like most about my job/experiences in the trust industry is ... The interesting and challenging situations, real and hypothetical, that come up; and also the possibility of helping people resolve their problems with planning. There is such diversity and variety in what I do that I never get bored. My golden rule is ... Always do my best, whatever it is. The business expression I hate most is ... Stop, that’s impossible. |
|||||||||
UPDATES & DEVELOPMENTS: |
|||||||||
Upcoming Events | |||||||||
Foreign Trusts: Problems and Solutions for Trustees and US Beneficiaries (1 August 2013, 12-2pm, Level 10, M Hotel Singapore) | |||||||||
Non-US Trusts (often referred to from the US practitioner’s viewpoint as “Foreign Trusts”) provide a number of tax benefits when the non-US settlor is living. But once the settlor dies these trusts can wreak havoc with income tax planning when US beneficiaries are involved. We will discuss planning techniques for foreign grantor trusts to avoid future problems with accumulated income and solutions for non-grantor trusts that have accumulated income. We will also discuss US filing requirements that apply to foreign trusts and their US beneficiaries. Register to secure your place by completing and faxing the registration form to (65) 31287781 (no 6 prefix) or via e-mail today! |
|||||||||
STEP Asia Conference 2013 (13-14 November 2013, Marina Bay Sands Hotel Singapore) | |||||||||
The annual STEP Asia Conference returns this year in Singapore after another sell out event in Hong Kong in 2012, and features over forty top speakers who will discuss the latest trends and developments in wealth management. This conference has established itself as a must-attend event in the diaries of practitioners around the world, and is your opportunity to both hear from and network with some of the leading lights in the industry. [Read More] |
|||||||||
Post-Event Updates | |||||||||
Evaluating the Current MAS Initiative on Designation of Tax Crimes as Money Laundering Predicate Offences in Singapore (26 June 2013, SGX Auditorium) | |||||||||
The Pre-AGM seminar on the implications of the latest MAS tax crimes initiative that was held on 26 June 2013 was very well attended, with around 140 delegates, comprising of legal practitioners, wealth and financial planners from the trust industry.
The speaker of the seminar, Mr. S. Sharma went into details of how the laws were derived and its intended coverage together with implications that comes with the initiatives. Many delegates found the presentation very informative and useful, especially when the new laws will take effect from 1 July 2013. Contributed by Linda Wong - Kensington Trust Group |