Crypto losses have the potential to adversely impact the tax base, particularly if they are deducted against income from other profitable sources. There is a key question of fairness as to whether crypto losses should be cross-subsidised by income from other sources that may have nothing to do...

The range of potential investment opportunities in Singapore involving cryptocurrency continues to grow over time as these asset classes gradually gain mainstream acceptance. While there are risks involved in such investments and investors should certainly do their homework before blindly...

The paper highlights the need for governments to carefully consider the implications which the rise of crypto assets can have on tax systems, noting that the absence of a deliberate policy position would be a policy decision in itself, with consequences for the tax base. It discusses four main...

When it comes to the tax world, the starting point is that international tax law does not currently give any special status to a meta realm as a distinct jurisdiction. The metaverse is not a term of art recognised by tax law. However, what we are likely to see is a change in business models and...

Digital tokens, or crypto assets, are digital financial assets based on distributed ledger technology. They come in a considerable variety of forms and have been used in a large number of different ways. Yet, relatively few tax laws of any jurisdiction mention digital tokens specifically. It is...

As a relatively new area, the taxation of digital tokens can give rise to several dangerous misconceptions. This article lays out five propositions to counter these misconceptions: 1) digital tokens are not a single monolithic asset class attracting uniform tax treatment; 2) the common...

Rapid developments in automation technology pose a risk of mass displacement of human labour, resulting in the need to support and retrain displaced workers (a negative externality). We propose an “automation tax” that would slow the adoption of automation technology in appropriate...

The advent of the digital economy has had profound implications for taxation. Tax systems have been forced to adapt as they become increasingly unsuited for the realities of modern commerce. While Singapore has largely followed international developments, particularly in the area of...

When digital tokens are used in debt finance, one cannot assume that the same orthodox tax treatment will apply. The highly specific nature of tax provisions means that they may apply very differently once digital tokens rather than fiat currency are involved. Through a case study of Singapore...

The post highlights three main issues that may result from the rapid and widespread automation of jobs: 1) declining tax revenues; 2) inequitable distribution of gains and losses from automation; and 3) social costs of job displacement, such as social support and retraining programmes for...