Partners

Yang Shi Yong

Director, Tax & Private Client Services

Key Practices

Qualifications

  • LL.B. (Hons), National University of Singapore
  • Admitted to the Singapore Bar in 2006

Shi Yong advises on a wide spectrum of tax law including corporate and personal income tax, goods and services tax, property tax, stamp duties, and customs and excise duties, with specialisation in Singapore enterprise tax risk management, tax audit, and tax investigation matters.

He is regularly engaged on contentious and complex tax audit and investigation matters, and is deeply appreciated by his clients for his well-rounded knowledge of Singapore tax law and strong management skills. He successfully resolved a high number of these matters without prosecution.

He also provides tax advisory on all tax aspects of corporate transactions. He has advised local corporate groups and MNCs on mergers and acquisitions, amalgamations and restructuring.

Shi Yong’s other key strength lies in oil and gas matters. He regularly advises national oil and gas companies on downstream oil and gas matters, such as joint venture arrangements, supply and trading transactions, crude and product swap transactions, and strategic reserve procurement arrangements.

He has also advised on refinery infrastructure and assets, storage, various aspects of production sharing agreements and off-take and supply agreements, the corporate governance of oil and gas companies, and day-to-day commercial and operational matters.

Here is a representative list of matters that Shi Yong has been involved with:

  • Represented a prominent property developer before the Court of Appeal in a property tax case involving a novel issue.
  • Advised a leading commercial group in Singapore on its corporate income tax assessment of more than S$100 million and persuaded Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority to discharge the tax assessment.
  • Advised several ship-broking companies and contract manufacturing companies in tax investigation matters, successfully resolving these matters without prosecution.
  • Represented a leading serviced apartment group in an appeal against its tax assessment under section 10E of the Income Tax Act.
  • Acted as instructing counsel in a successful appeal before the Maldivian Tax Appeal Tribunal involving tax of approximately USD 5.6 million.
  • Successful appeal for the exemption of shipping income on behalf of a Chinese shipping company operating Singapore flag ships.
  • Successful representation of a local shipping company in a dispute concerning the taxability of payments derived under performance notes.

Asia Pacific Legal 500
Tax 2024 – Recommended lawyer for 9 consecutive years

Noted by Legal 500 as a “senior-level firepower in tax risk management, tax audit and investigations work.”

  • Member of the Law Society of Singapore
  • Member of the Singapore Academy of Law
  • Co-author, Singapore chapter, Tax Controversy 2024, Lexology Getting the Deal Through
  • Author, Singapore chapter, Chambers Corporate Tax 2023 Global Practice Guide
  • Co-author, Singapore chapter, Legal 500 Tax Comparative Guide 2021
  • Co-author, Singapore chapter, Chambers Global Practice Guides on Private Wealth 2019
  • Contributor, Vol 16(2), Revenue and Taxation: Income Tax, Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore (LexisNexis Singapore, 2017)
  • Contributor, Vol 16(Reissue), Revenue and Taxation: Customs and Excise, Goods and Services Tax, Property Tax, Stamp Duty, Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore (LexisNexis Singapore, 2012)
  • Contributor, Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore, Volume 12 (Revenue and Taxation), 2012 (reissue), LexisNexis Singapore