AN ADDITIONAL Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) of 35 per cent will be imposed on any transfer of residential property into a living trust, where the transfer occurs from May 9, the Ministry of Finance announced late on Sunday night (May 8).

Under current regulations, ABSD may or may not be payable upon such a transfer, depending on the profile of the beneficial owner of the residential property transferred into the trust.

Specifically, if the living trust is structured such that there is no identifiable beneficial owner at the time of transfer, ABSD does not apply. To close this gap, the government is introducing the “ABSD (Trust)” at 35 per cent, MOF said in its press release.