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Newsletter, January 2007


Dear friends and colleagues,

We are now into the New Year. 2006 had been a very exciting year for us, and we believe that 2007 will bring even more new developments for us, whether in the legal sphere or otherwise! As always, we will endeavour to continually keep you updated via our e-newsletter on new happenings and events at Gateway Law and in our part of the world.

If your colleagues or friends would like to receive our e-newsletters, do send an email to us at marcom@gateway-law.com, and we will be more than happy to add them to our growing list of subscribers. Conversely, if you have any feedback for us to make our e-newsletter more relevant to you, please let us know as well and we would be quite happy to hear from you.

Happy reading.

Warmest regards,
Max Ng
Director

 

January Spotlight

Expansion & Change: A New Look for 2007

If you have visited our offices during December, you would have had to put up with some inconveniences. Contractors and workmen were all over our office as we rushed to put the finishing touches in place. Our renovations have been in full swing over the last month; these works having been necessitated by our recent office expansion. With the addition of more lawyers and more staff, we have expanded our usable office space by more than three times! Whilst we did not manage to finish our renovations in time for Christmas 2006, we certainly will finish it by January 2007 and we take this opportunity to invite you to view our newly renovated premises should you be in the Beach Road area. Our meeting room now offers a spectacular view of the Singapore Harbour, the newly created Marina Bay Golf Course and the soon to be built Integrated Resort at Marina Bay. It will indeed be a Happy New Year for all of us here at Gateway Law, as we settle into our new and expanded office premises. We take this opportunity to also wish all of you a Joyous New Year and all the best in 2007!

 

 

Goods and Services Tax (or “GST”) Notification

Please take note that from 1st January 2007, Gateway Law Corporation will be a GST-registered organisation and will therefore issue Tax Invoices and charge GST, where applicable. As GST is relatively low in Singapore (currently 5%), we do not expect this change to affect our clients or customers in a substantially adverse manner. In addition, the provision of services can be zero-rated if it is an “international service”. In other words, no GST is generally charged for services provided by us to clients that are resident overseas. Clients that are also GST-registered may be able to also claim the corresponding input tax back from the Authorities.

For more information on GST generally and how it may apply to you or your business, please visit the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore’s website at http://www.iras.gov.sg/ESVPortal/gst/index.asp, which is quite informative and helpful. If you have any further queries on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us at enquiries@gateway-law.com

 

 

Performance Share Plans

With effect from Year of Assessment 2007, deductions will be granted to employee stock options granted through treasury shares to facilitate share-based compensation schemes.

During the budget speech on 17 February 2006, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that since share-based compensation schemes form a part of staff costs, a tax deduction will be granted to companies that have incurred actual outlay for the employee stock options and other share-based compensations.

This change in Singapore’s tax regime has led to a rise in the use of performance share plans (PSPs) as opposed to share option plans by Singapore listed companies. If treasury shares are not used, companies will not be able to enjoy this tax deduction (The Business Times, Monday 04 December 2006).

Several other factors have contributed to this shift to PSPs - the issue of stock options must now be reflected as an expense in companies’ income statement under the latest accounting rules, and the valuation of share options has proved complex and problematic in the past.

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New Addition to Gateway Law

In July of 2006, Ms Chin Hooi Yen joined our practice as an Associate Director. Prior to joining us, Hooi Yen practised corporate law for several years before going on to become Head of Legal & Compliance at ZUJI. With her vast experience in dealing with legal matters in various Asia-Pacific countries, Hooi Yen brings with her a breath and depth of experience in providing practical legal solutions to our clients. Her scope of practice will include advising on general commercial contracts, joint venture agreements, mergers and acquisitions, corporate compliance and Companies Act requirements, employment law, shareholders' agreements, e-commerce and investment agreements.

For more information on Hooi Yen, please visit our website or email her at chin.hooiyen@gateway-law.com

 

About Us
Gateway Law is a specialist regional legal practice focusing on intellectual property and corporate and commercial law matters. Our lawyers are all well-versed with technology, and with issues relating to patents, trade marks, copyright, registered design, and corporate and commercial.
 
Contact Us
Phone: (65) 6341 5779        Fax: (65) 6341 5781        Email: mail@gateway-law.com
Address: 152 Beach Road, #37-05/06 Gateway East, Singapore 189721
 
 

 
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