SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Sim Bock Eng, Josephine Choo, Aw Wen Ni and Vincent Ho, WongPartnership LLP
thereby enhances his prospects of remaining here with his current caregivers. Subsequent to the case of UKM , the Ministry of Social and Family Development stated that it would review adoption laws and look into the issue of surrogacy. Parents who intend to adopt children conceived through surrogacy overseas will have their applica - tions assessed on a case-by-case basis. Prior to UKM , the courts had granted the adoption of children to ten married couples (out of 14 applicants) who used surrogacy because of infertility issues. In the subsequent decision of VET v VEU [2020] 4 SLR 1120, the same plaintiff from UKM applied for his same-sex partner to be appointed as a guardian of his two children (including the son whose adoption was granted in UKM ). The Singapore High Court dismissed the plaintiff’s application as, amongst other reasons, it did not consider the appointment of the man’s same- sex partner as a guardian to be necessary or in the children’s welfare. 9.2 Same-Sex Marriage Same-sex marriages are neither permitted nor recog - nised in Singapore, and Section 12 (1) of the Wom - en’s Charter 1961 expressly provides that a marriage between persons who at the date of the marriage not respectively male and female is void, whether solem - nised in Singapore or elsewhere. Therefore, parties to such a marriage do not have rights as spouses in the event of a breakdown of the relationship or the demise of the other party. A marriage between a person who has undergone a sex reassignment procedure and a member of the opposite sex is valid. There are no laws recognising domestic partnerships in Singapore.
institutions of public character or qualifying grantmak - ing philanthropic organisations are entitled to a 250% tax deduction of the amount of their donation. Where the tax deduction exceeds the income for the year, the donor is entitled to utilise the remaining tax deduc - tions in the next five years. Donations of immovable properties and shares to approved institutions of public character are also exempted from stamp duties. All charities registered in Singapore and charities exempt from registration enjoy automatic tax exemp - tion. For properties that are used exclusively for chari - table purposes, property tax may also be exempt in full or in part. Singapore has also expressed hopes to become a regional centre for philanthropy, and is encouraging family offices, businesses and individuals based in Singapore to contribute to impactful solutions to prob - lems. In furtherance of this goal, the Wealth Manage - ment Institute, MAS and the Private Banking Industry Group launched the Impact Philanthropy Partner - ship on 28 March 2023, which aims to bring together wealth owners and family offices to tackle society’s most pressing challenges and issues. The Singapore government has announced changes to tax incentive schemes to encourage family offices to give more and support local charities and non-profit entries. Under the Philanthropy Tax Incentive Scheme, qualifying donors in Singapore can claim a 100% tax deduction, capped at 40% of the donor’s statutory income, for overseas donations made through qualify - ing local intermediaries. To advance and facilitate private philanthropic giv - ing in Singapore, the Commissioner of Charities has issued updated guidance on the light-touch regime for grantmakers (ie, non-profit entities such as pri - vate foundations or business’ giving programmes that give grant monies to specific charitable causes). The guidance provides clarity on allowable allocations between local and overseas giving, the conduct of non-grantmaking activities, and disbursements made through non-grant instruments.
10. Charitable Planning 10.1 Charitable Giving
Several tax incentives have been put in place in Singa - pore to encourage charitable giving. Until 31 Decem - ber 2026, donors to charities that are designated as
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