Singapore
Chester Wee is a senior international tax advisor based in Singapore with extensive experience in cross-border transactions, tax controversy and BEPS 2.0 Pillar Two. He has held regional leadership roles at EY and is widely recognised for his technical expertise and practical, principled advice. Feedbacks received: “Chester displays great tax technical skills and an excellent understanding of the overall business context that has helped make the tax technical advice he provides actionable in the real world. He is a great partner and an invaluable resource. Finally, he is responsive and thoughtful and always available when needed.” "Chester, I am in international tax since 27 years and there were only very few that provided tax advice on challenging tasks in the way you do. You are THE go-to advisor for SGP matters and many more topics. It is a pleasure." "Chester works with me as the ITTS lead on XXX and also as a key leader in the GloBE technical and solutions team. He is a world class partner. He is innovative, clear thinking and a great communicator. He has a friendly and polite style that invites trust from clients and colleagues. He is a leading thinker in our firm and someone I am always learning from whilst he is super generous with his ideas and insights. Always sharing proactively and never taking the small “knowledge is personal power” approach that sometimes holds back our best thinkers. He is good standard and a pleasure and privilege to work with." “I have always appreciated your extreme knowledge and ability to connect dots, combined with honesty, genuine care for clients' long term outcomes, and openness...”
Serve as an independent contractor on a retainer basis for international tax matters
Manage EY’s Asean and Singapore international tax and transaction services practice. Formulated go-to-market strategies based on market trends. Collaborated with EY Global to formalize foundational trainings for new joiners. Facilitated tax technical developments such as BEPS 2.0 and rolled out of global campaigns into the region. Supported regional Pillar 2 engagement pursuits. Led teams in formulating the Pillar 2 compliance approach.
Member of IRAS Joint Study Group for Minimum Effective Tax Rate (METR) regime since February 2022. Facilitates international tax trainings for Tax Academy of Singapore. Regular speaker at seminars and conferences. Samples of projects include the following: 1. Supported restructuring to meet new economic substance requirements and re-domiciliation of foreign companies into Singapore. 2. Assisted with structuring of real estate investments from Singapore into Australia, China, Malaysia, Japan, UK and US. Designed overall fund structure and supported issuance of qualifying debt securities. 3. Performed permanent establishment (PE) risk assessments. Participate in PE Think Tanks. 4. Performed feasibility studies on use of Singapore as IP/Principal Hub, transactional/operating model design and implementation. Supported migration of IP rights into Singapore and out of Singapore. 5. Assisted with the migration of Global/regional HQ into Singapore and group restructuring to place Singapore as the ultimate holding company jurisdiction. Secured multi-millions of stamp duty remission/relief. 6. Assisted with the post-merger integrations, carve-outs and led implementation of the multi-jurisdictional step plans. 7. Assisted with tax residency disputes. Secured tax refund of $240m in 2020. 8. Performed Pillar 2 impact assessments, identification of ultimate parent entity and various planning and advisory engagements. Acted as technical advisor to various Pillar 2 system implementation projects.
To collaborate with STARI on the advancement and sharing of tax research, including participation in academic research, conferences, seminars & training, etc.
Key appointment holder. Support the logistics requirements (e.g., rescue equipment, communication, food and water, security, transport) of the Rescue Battalion to ensure operational readiness.
Assisted US and Australian shipping companies to restructure and base their operations in Singapore. Reviewed tax implications for undertaking offshore projects in Australia, East Timor and Tunisia. Advised shipping companies on “substantial equipment” PE exposure in Australia. Assisted shipping companies to apply for Approved International Shipping Enterprise Scheme. Assisted a Singapore fund to structure real estate investments into Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore. Assisted to draft taxation notes for PPMs. Advised hedge funds on Singapore fund tax exemption schemes under sections 13C and 13CA of the Income Tax Act. Led project team to compare provisions in Singapore's tax treaties vis-a-vis those of key maritime nations. Led regional tax due diligence exercises involving companies providing outdoor advertisement and diving services. Reviewed Singapore income tax returns for companies and expatriate individuals. Supported statutory audit engagements in reviewing adequacy of tax provisions, deferred tax position and financial statement disclosures. Managed the production of the firm's Singapore budget commentary. One of the key speakers for regional tax seminar in Malaysia covering the topic "Tax Planning Ideas using Singapore and Mauritius". Received special recognition awards for good performance. Key clients include Bloomberg, Cal Dive, Gulf Marine, Halliburton, Helix Energy Services Group, Hitachi Asia, KBR, Micron, Raffles Hotel, SABIC, Swissotel, Starwood and Tullett Prebon.
Led project team to undertake a government sponsored survey on the importance of having a tax treaty with the US from Singapore companies' perspectives. Led tax due diligence engagements. Reviewed Singapore income tax returns for companies and expatriate individuals. Supported statutory audit engagements in reviewing adequacy of tax provisions, deferred tax position and financial statement disclosures. Represented the firm to participate in the IRAS’ working group aimed to reduce administrative burden for corporate taxpayers. Managed the production of the firm's Singapore budget commentary. Received special recognition awards for good performance.
Part of project team to study tax depreciation schemes for hotel buildings in selected countries for Singapore Tourism Board. Part of the Bloomberg engagement team. Conducted entry and exit interviews for expatriate employees. Acted as the regional coordinator for South Asia region. Prepared Singapore income tax returns and accompanying tax computations for corporate and individual clients. Handled complex cases including merchant banks and MNCs with tax incentives such as Headquarters Incentive, Global Trader Programme and Financial Treasury Centre. Supported statutory audit engagements in reviewing adequacy of tax provisions, deferred tax position and financial statement disclosures. Accelerated promotion to manager level. Received special recognition awards for good performance.