TAN Kay Kheng heads the Firm's Tax Practice and is also a Partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group.
 
In the field of revenue law, Kay Kheng's areas of practice encompass both contentious and advisory/transactional work relating to income tax, stamp duty, property tax and goods & services tax. He also practises in the field of general litigation and dispute resolution, such as disputes relating to commercial/corporate law, accountants' work and real property (land acquisitions).
 
Kay Kheng has considerable experience acting as Counsel in the Singapore Court of Appeal and High Court, as well as specialist tribunals such as the Land Acquisition Appeals Board, the Income Tax Board of Review, the Goods and Services Tax Board of Review and the Valuation Review Board.
 
Kay Kheng also has significant tax experience in corporate and real estate transactions as well as tax advisory matters.
 
Kay Kheng serves on the Disciplinary Tribunal Panel for the legal profession. At the Law Society of Singapore, he serves as Vice-Chairman of its Compensation Fund Committee, and is also involved in committees with CPA Australia. He is also appointed to the SingHealth Centralised Institutional Review Board (Board E, 2022-2025). He has previously served on the Accounting Standards Council (2010-2015), the boards of the Tax Academy of Singapore (2012-2017) and the Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals (SIATP, now known as SCTP) (2013-2020), as a divisional councillor of CPA Australia (2016-2018), as Adjunct Faculty at the School of Law, Singapore Management University (2012-2013) and on the Inquiry Panel for the legal profession (2007-2021).
 
Kay Kheng graduated in law from the National University of Singapore, where he was awarded a Singapore Turf Club Scholarship in his final year. He has been in private practice since his admission to the Singapore Bar in 1990, save for a stint as a Legal Officer with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore in the early 1990s. Kay Kheng also holds a master of accountancy from Charles Sturt University, a master of taxation from the University of New South Wales and, more recently, a master of theological studies from Trinity Theological College. He has been admitted as a Fellow of CPA Australia and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. He is an Accredited Tax Advisor (Income Tax) with the SCTP and also a member of the International Fiscal Association.

Significant disputes that Kay Kheng has acted as Counsel include the following:

  • Comptroller of Income Tax v BBO (on the tax treatment of investment gains by insurance companies) (CA/HC/ITBR).
  • BFC Development LLP v Comptroller of Property Tax (on property tax vacancy refunds) (CA/HC).
  • ABB v Comptroller of Income Tax (on the taxation of stock options granted to an employee's estate) (HC/ITBR).
  • BLP v Comptroller of Income Tax (on the taxation of management corporations) (HC/ITBR).
  • Rabobank v Motorola Electronics Pte Ltd (on set-off where debts had been assigned) (CA/HC).
  • Teng Fuh v Collector of Land Revenue (judicial review of a 1983 land acquisition where the property was left undeveloped) (CA).

Related Practices

  • Tax
  • Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group
  • The Law and Practice of Singapore Income Tax (LexisNexis, 2011, 2013 & 2020), chapters 3, 9 and 19 (2013 edition) and chapter 9 (2020 edition)
  • Singapore Academy of Law Annual Review of Singapore Cases, chapter on Revenue and Tax Law, 2005 to 2022
  • Stamp Duties Act (LexisNexis Annotated Statutes of Singapore), 2010, 2014 and 2015 editions, and updated online edition, 2022
  • Chambers Global Practice Guides - Real Estate Singapore, 2018, 2019 and 2023
  • Global Legal Insights - Corporate Tax, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th editions - Singapore Chapter

Kay Kheng has been recognised as one of the leading 250 tax lawyers in the world by the Tax Directors Handbook (TDH250) since 2008. He has also been identified as one of Singapore's Leading Individuals in recognition for his outstanding work in tax disputes and litigation in the Tax Controversy Leaders guide by International Tax Review. Kay Kheng is ranked as a Leading Tax Lawyer in Best Lawyers and Chambers Asia-Pacific – Asia Pacific's Leading Lawyers for Business; recognised as a Leading Individual for Tax by The Legal 500: Asia Pacific – The Client's Guide to the Asia Pacific Legal Profession and recognised as a Distinguished Practitioner by Asialaw Leading Lawyers – The Guide to Asia-Pacific's Leading Lawyers in the field of Tax.

Contact Details

Career & Qualifications

National University of Singapore (LL.B., Hons.)
Charles Sturt University (MAcc)
University of New South Wales (MTax) CTA
FCPA Australia; ATA (Income Tax)

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