Doing Business - Singapore vs The British Virgin Islands

The following is a comparison of some of the key factors of Singapore and The British Virgin Islands (BVI) as a potential jurisdiction for their businesses:

Business Environment

Singapore是一个位于印度洋与南海之间的马来半岛南端的城市状态。大陆以及63名岛屿，构成了278平方英里的土地面积，构成了亚洲蓬勃发展的一部分的主要海运和金融中心。城市 - 沿着东西方贸易走廊策略性地。这个国家，with a population of 5.7 million, has a thriving economy and has long been regarded as one of the four Asian tigers, alongside Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan.与BVI不同，新加坡拥有多元化的经济，具有较强的部门绩效，如金融服务，信息和通信技术服务和制造业，如炼油，电子，制药，石油钻井平台和化学品。该国也被视为世界领先的物流中心和外汇中心之一。

BVI，土地面积57平方英里，是一个自治式英国海外领土，约有60个岛屿遍布东北加勒比海。根据中央统计局（CSO），BVI总人口28,514。该领土没有经济多元化，金融服务和旅游业是唯一的实际产业，分别构成国民收入的60％和40％。尽管其尺寸小，但BVI是世界上最受欢迎的海上金融中心之一。但是，大多数公司在BVI担任被动资产控股公司，相对较少，进行国际贸易或交易活动

英属维尔京群岛,尽管作为一个领先的离岸金融centre, rarely features in any of the leading international business and competitiveness surveys, in which Singapore, invariably, holds a high rating. Singapore has, in fact, held a top place in the World Bank’s “Doing Business Report for more than a decade as one of the world’s easiest places to do business (and is now second only to New Zealand).

In 2016 Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) compiled by Z/Yen Group, Singaporewas rankedthird在世界上(BVI was 36th) classifying Singapore as a “global leader”whileBVI was classified as a “transnational specialist”.This apparently demonstrates that Singapore’s classification underscores its high ranking in factors such as human capital, business environment, infrastructure, and economic and enterprise ecosystem.

Taxes

Singapore also has a business friendly tax regime, with a territorial and single-tier taxation policy. Singapore has concluded an extensive raft of double taxation agreements (DTA’s) with other countries, making the withholding tax rates very attractive for taxpayers hailing from jurisdictions with which Singapore has a tax treaty. Singapore has an extremely “clean” image and is on theOECD’s white list,while continuously improving its transparency and cooperation with its counterparts on exchange of tax information.

There are effectively no taxes in BVI, other than payroll tax, stamp duty for real-estate transactions and import duties. In all other respects BVI is either a zero or no tax territory, including no taxes on income, capital gains, sales, profits, inheritances and corporations. The majority of Government revenue is generated from company registration and license fees.

As a British Overseas Territory, BVI cannot sign or ratify international conventions in its own right. Rather, the UK is responsible for BVI’s international affairs and may arrange for the ratification of any convention to be extended to the BVI. Largely, BVI has Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA’s) rather than DTA’s as the latter are effectively irrelevant in the absence of withholding tax in the territory. Although BVI is on the OECD’s white-list, its image is still somewhat that of a tax haven due to its near zero tax policy, and while Singapore made the EU’s Anti Money Laundering (AML) white-list of “equivalent jurisdictions”, (released in 2012 after EU’s third AML directive) BVI did not make the list.

	Singapore	BVI
标题企业税率	17%	Nil
个人税率	0％至22％	Nil
销售税	7%	Nil
Capital Gains Tax	Nil	Nil
责任在贸易上	All exports are duty exempt All imports are duty free except for controlled items	All exports are duty exempt Import duty of up to 20% on items including household items, clothing and reading materials
Withholding Tax	10% to 15% 来自DTA条约合作伙伴的收件人享受优惠率	Not Applicable

公司组建

成型新加坡公司或BVI公司的时间框架和易于形成的几乎相同。然而，主要区别在于BVI公司面临的续展义务。与新加坡不同，公司在成立期间支付一次性登记费用，BVI公司必须为其营业执照续期支付年费（最低350美元）。bob软件

劳动力

BVI given its small domestic population meets much of its demand for labor through immigrant workers. According to a 2012 estimate, foreigners constitute 67% of the labor force. Singapore is also dependent on immigrant workers but nearly 68% of the workforce is comprised of Singapore residents (Singapore citizens and permanent residents).

Singapore remains open to suitably qualified and skilled foreign workers in order to fill any gaps in its workforce. The competitiveness of Singapore’s workforce is one of the key criteria for foreign companies who prefer Singapore to alternative Asian jurisdictions to locate their companies.世界经济论坛的2016年全球Competitiveness Report’ ranks Singapore #2 in terms of labor/employee relations.

	Singapore	BVI
最低工资	No	US$6/hour
Social Security Contribution	Employer Contribution Rate: 16% of employee’s basic salary. 最高每月雇主贡献：S $ 960 /月	Employer Contribution Rate: 4.5% of insurable earning (capped at US$40,300 as of 2016)
Payroll Tax	No	雇主缴费率 - 支付给雇员的2％或6％的薪酬/被视为薪酬 自雇人员缴费率：10％或14％

IP保护

Singapore’s IP regime is consistently recognized as one of the most robust in the world by several international surveys.新加坡在世界上排名第四and top in Asia for having the best IP protection in the World Economic Forum’s‘Global Competitiveness Report 2017/2018’。同样美国全球知识产权中心的“国际知识产权2016年”将新加坡作为亚洲排名第一对于我们的IP环境。

In 2015, BVI revised their somewhat antiquated IP regime并通过其商标法引入了综合变革，并于2015年9月1日生效。大修姗姗来迟，我们将不得不等待，看看利益相关者如何应对新制度。

管辖权的知识产权制度的地位反映了其创新的环境，即质量资源的可用性，例如人力，资本和基础设施，以帮助促进和孵化创新努力。

It has been noted that there is a direct correlation between the strength of the IP regime and the availability of human, technical and financial capital available for innovation activities. Since Singapore’s IP regime is mature and robust, many companies choose it over other jurisdictions as the location for their R&D centers.

Politics and Bureaucracy

新加坡和BVI都是民主和政治稳定的经济体。任何司法管辖区都没有领土威胁或内部紧张局势。Singapore’s bureaucracyis regarded as one of the most efficient in the world and the政治和经济风险咨询（PERC）在2010年调查中排名第一。BVI官僚机构是可比的，同样的商业友好。

Living Environment

As an island state and territory, Singapore and BVI respectively, offer a vibrant lifestyle amidst stunning nature. Both jurisdictions are comparable when it comes to the quality of life, in terms of housing, personal safety environmental quality, and political and economic stability. Singapore’s far larger population and infrastructure however dictate that public facilities, entertainment, culture and nightlife are far more diverse than BVI’s. Additionally, Singapore as a mature, autonomous and developed country with a significant population offers a comprehensive healthcare system, first class education as well as transportation infrastructure and other services.

Singapore offers a multitude of options when it comes to education, with public, private and international institutions available throughout the country. Likewise healthcare services are robust with world-class specialists, hospitals and caregivers. Visiting BVI requires a flight via Puerto Rico or another Caribbean island which has flights to the USA and/or Europe. Conversely, Singapore, as an international aviation transit hub, commands excellent connectivity and is ranked 25th in the生活质量2018年报告compiled by Mercer.

新加坡不仅是定位商业的理想场所，可以跨境行进或投资边境，但也是生活，工作和娱乐的优越地。