Charles Monat Associates

Singapore Abolishes Estate Duty Part II

2008-02-15T17:23:00.002+08:00

The full text of Minister for Finance and Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam's budget speech can be found on www.singaporebudget.gov.sg.

We quote from the paragraph announcing the removal of Estate Duty:

4.76 I have therefore decided to remove Estate Duty from our tax regime, with effect from today. It is not just a practical or expedient measure, but one that on balance will be in our collective interest. If we make Singapore an attractive place for wealth to be invested and built up, whether by Singaporeans or foreigners who bring their assets here, it will benefit our whole economy and society, not just the individuals who build up their wealth. It is not a zero sum game.

Read the Estate Duty part of Minister Shanmugaratnam's speech

Singapore Abolishes Estate Duty

2008-02-15T17:19:00.001+08:00

SINGAPORE, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Singapore said on Friday it will keep income tax unchanged, a surprise move that leaves the top personal rate at 20 percent, and said the small city-state could not insulate itself from global inflation.
"We will not be making any further move on personal income tax this year," Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told parliament in the presentation of his budget for the fiscal year beginning in April 2008. Read more...

UK Non-residents and non-domiciliaries – the draft new rules

2008-02-01T16:05:00.000+08:00

The new rules for taxing UK resident non-domiciled individuals and for calculating periods of UK residence have finally been released (in draft) more than three months after their announcement in the Pre-Budget Report. The proposed provisions are even broader and more draconian than was anticipated and, to the extent that planning to mitigate their effects is possible, there is little more than two months available to do so. In context, however, there continue to be significant benefits for UK resident non-domiciliaries for inheritance tax purposes, and in respect of untaxed remittances to the UK.

The linked PDF outlines some of the more salient points and is used with the premission of Lawrence Graham LLP.

LG%20Tax%20%26%20Private%20Capital%20notes%20-%20January%202008.pdf

The business of families

2007-11-26T11:01:00.000+08:00

Families have certain dynamics -- complex, fluid and emotional -- while businesses have very different ones. So what happens when the two combine? Read more...

Use a will or a trust in estate planning?

2007-11-26T10:55:00.000+08:00

Many people are confused about whether to use a will or a trust in estate planning. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

A will is a legal and binding contract that allows you to name a personal representative to administer your affairs upon your death. You can name a guardian for any minor children, provide for special needs for children or a spouse and leave instructions for the distribution of your assets. In the will, you can leave property to someone who would not otherwise inherit under the state’s intestacy law — if you passed without a will. You can disinherit someone via your will, except for your spouse unless the spouse agrees to not receiving the inheritance. Read more...

Therapists Tackle Emotional Burden of Being Rich

2007-11-16T09:46:00.000+08:00

For ultra-rich clients, financial-advisory firms provide all kinds of specialists. There are wealth planning specialists, risk management specialists, insurance specialists, trust specialists, and so on. Firms are starting to recognize, however, that this array of specialists isn't qualified for the more emotional — and sometimes darker — side of big bucks. Read more...

A Defective But Useful Trust

2007-11-16T09:44:00.000+08:00

The sunset provision that was built into the gradual repeal of the estate tax is beginning to loom on the horizon, and wealthy taxpayers are doing everything possible to reduce their taxable estates before the provision takes effect in 2011. Read more...

Buffett Backs Estate Tax

2007-11-16T09:39:00.000+08:00

Berkshire-Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett showed his support for the estate tax Wednesday, testifying before the Senate Committee on Finance that the so-called “death tax” is actually a “death present,” and to repeal it would be another step in the road to an American aristocracy.

Referencing the ever-widening income gap and the enormous increase in wealth of the richest Americans, the billionaire Buffett stated that ``A meaningful estate tax is needed to prevent our democracy from becoming a dynastic plutocracy.'' Read more...

The Role of Advisors in Charitable Planning and Decision Making

2007-11-16T09:31:00.000+08:00

A very interesting survey from Registered Rep magazine, sponsored by Schwab Charitable shows increased opportunities for Charitable Planning conversations with clients.

Schwab_whitepaper.pdf

Lloyd Blankfein and Ken Moelis on Wall Street Risks, Rewards and Opportunities

2007-11-16T09:27:00.000+08:00

When Merrill Lynch reported solid second-quarter earnings last July, chairman and CEO Stan O'Neal sent employees a memo boasting about the firm's risk management prowess. Only three months later, Merrill Lynch took its historic $8.4 billion write-down for losses in mortgage-related securities, with Citigroup and others soon reporting unprecedented credit losses as well. O'Neal and Citigroup chairman and CEO Charles Prince were both ousted from their jobs. Read more...

Hong Kong’s millionaires stay ahead of those in Singapore

2007-11-12T09:05:00.000+08:00

Hong Kong will continue to stay ahead of Singapore in terms of its number of millionaires and the assets they hold, according to a recent report by London-based market research firm Datamonitor.

The number of Hong Kong millionaires will increase by 8.8% annually to 83,000 in 2011 from 51,000 in 2006. In Singapore, that number will increase by 7.3% annually to 29,000 millionaires in 2011 from 19,000 in 2006. Read more...

Norway's oil fund to grow to $600 bln

2007-11-07T13:10:00.000+08:00

Norway's oil fund, which invests the country's oil wealth, is expected to grow to $600 billion in four to five years from $350 billion currently, central bank governor Svein Gjedrem said on Tuesday. Read more...

Now flush, Norway turns tables on Sweden

2007-11-07T13:08:00.000+08:00

Long a poor cousin in Scandinavia, Norway has surpassed Sweden to become one of the richest countries in the world and a magnet for young Swedes ready to work hard to make a quick - and rather big - buck. Read more...

Succession Planning: Readers and Experts Talk

2007-11-07T12:58:00.000+08:00

The Oct. 22 Small Business Link looked at ways small companies had planned for a change in management at the top.

We asked Tim Berry, founder and president of Palo Alto Software Inc. in Eugene, Ore., and Andrea Fetterman, director of corporate-image consulting at City Apparel, an offshoot of uniform and dry-cleaning business Kramer Enterprises Inc., in Findlay, Ohio, to be guest moderators on a reader forum on WSJ.com about succession planning. Read more...

Tax changes likely for estates

2007-11-07T12:52:00.000+08:00

If you have assets of more than $1 million, the cost of not planning will come in the form of potentially higher taxes if you die after 2010. That's when the current estate tax exemption (the amount that's not subject to tax) of $2 million in assets expires and reverts to the 2001 exemption of $1 million. The higher exemption was the result of President Bush's tax cut plan, which expires in 2010. Read more...

How to Handle Beneficiary Designations

2007-11-07T12:50:00.000+08:00

The decision about how to designate beneficiaries for your company retirement plan, life insurance policies, and other assets might seem like a no-brainer. Chances are you would like those near and dear to you to inherit any money you've accumulated during your lifetime, so making sure that happens should be as simple as writing their names on the appropriate forms, right? Read more...

Retirement planning: Key points you must know

2007-11-07T12:49:00.000+08:00

The younger generation has fancy ideas about retirement. Many dream of retiring early, and then pursuing their hobbies or passions, or seeing the world extensively. Whether you subscribe to this view or whether you have the more traditional view of retirement, i.e. retire at 60, plan the occasional pilgrimage and devote time to reading or spirituality, it helps plan well and in advance. Read more...

S'pore financial institutions can tap into DIFC's family office framework

2007-10-24T14:34:00.000+08:00

Family wealth management or family office is emerging as a new area of focus in the financial sector.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is setting the pace with a new incentive to define a family office in a legal capacity.

It said Singapore-based financial institutions can tap into the framework and leverage on the rising number of high net worth families in this region. Read more...

Private banks target family offices

2007-10-24T14:32:00.000+08:00

Private bankers see little threat from "family office" practices -- units set up to typically manage money for one wealthy family or a small group of them -- and instead regard them as opportunities to win more business.

"Family offices are very close to our heart," Reinhard Krafft, head of private banking at German bank Sal Oppenheim, told the Reuters Wealth Management Summit. Read more...

Tax changes likely for estates

2007-10-24T14:29:00.000+08:00

Few people want to think about planning for death, but when 2011 gets here, more may wish they had.

If you have assets of more than $1 million, the cost of not planning will come in the form of potentially higher taxes if you die after 2010. That's when the current estate tax exemption (the amount that's not subject to tax) of $2 million in assets expires and reverts to the 2001 exemption of $1 million. The higher exemption was the result of President Bush's tax cut plan, which expires in 2010. Read more...

Hong Kong tax cut to boost growth

2007-10-11T08:42:00.000+08:00

Leader Donald Tsang said taxes would be cut by 1 percentage point, to 16.5% for firms and 15% for individuals, in the first policy speech of his new term. Read more...

Singapore dollar at 10-year highs

2007-10-10T15:50:00.000+08:00

Not entirely unrelated to Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer, our old friend Charlie Lay is quoted in this story on AFP. Read more...

UK 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review

2007-10-10T15:41:00.000+08:00

Go straight to HM Treasury and get the latest on the pre-budget, including some changes to the IHT. If you're in our industry, you'll find the double IHT allowance in Chap 5 of interest. Take me there, forthwith!

Chancellor plans £2bn tax raid on businesses

2007-10-10T15:34:00.000+08:00

The Chancellor said he would collect the extra tax from entrepreneurs selling businesses over the next three years by scrapping a relief that reduces the rate they currently pay on business assets held for two years to 10pc. Read more...

Charles Monat profiled in Hong Kong Business October Issue

2007-10-10T09:51:00.000+08:00

Charles Monat, Chairman of Charles Monat Associates is profiled in Hong Kong Business magazine for October.

HongKongBusiness%20Oct%202007.pdf