A four-page historical extract
Budget 2015 Annex A-6 compares the original M&A scheme for acquisitions from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2015 with changes for qualifying acquisitions from 1 April 2015 and an extension through 31 March 2020. These are historical dates, not a claim that the scheme expired permanently in 2020 or that every 2015 limit remains current.
Allowance before and after
Previously allowance was 5% of qualifying acquisition value capped at S$100 million per YA, written down over five years. The new rate became 25% with qualifying value capped at S$20 million per YA. Both produce a maximum nominal allowance of S$5 million, but on different acquisition bases; the source’s new column does not separately restate every write-down detail.
Stamp duty and transaction-cost allowance
Unlisted-share stamp-duty relief acquisition cap fell from S$100 million to S$20 million, corresponding to maximum duty relief per FY falling S$200,000 to S$40,000. Transaction costs stayed at 200%, with expenditure capped S$100,000 per YA and written down in one year. Examples include accounting/tax due diligence, legal and valuation fees; the expenditure cap is not itself the doubled allowance amount.
Shareholding tiers
Old tiers required moving from 50% or less to more than 50%, or from more than 50% but below 75% to at least 75%. New tiers add moving from below 20% to at least 20%, subject to conditions, and retain the move to more than 50%. The 75% tier is removed: a company already above 50% but below 75% at the basis-period start no longer qualifies simply by reaching 75%. Direct or indirect ordinary shares may count; an acquiring subsidiary must be formed to hold shares and not carry on trade/business.
The removed 12-month look-back
Previously elected consolidation of acquisitions over 12 months could span FYs, ending on the threshold-reaching date or a subsequent acquisition in that basis period. The changes remove this look-back to simplify the scheme. The extract says IRAS would publish details and transitional arrangements by May 2015; it does not itself supply those additional conditions or a current claim form.
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
Read the official PDF ↗