The profit element features as a central component in the definition of a partnership. Indeed, profit sharing between the parties has been singled out for statutory prima facie presumption of a partnership. As to how important this factor of profit sharing serves as an indicium of partnership - whether such a presumption can actually stand on its own or whether it has to be placed in its proper perspective as it interacts with other indicia in the totality of the circumstances before one can conclusively infer the existence of a partnership (with all the ancillary advantages and liabilities) - is an issue that will be discussed at length in this present paper.

This article examines the income tax treatment of a married couple who are living together. The law requires that the income of a wife to be aggregated to the income of her husband, upon which it is taxed as the income of one individual in the name of the husband. Although it is possible for the wife to opt for separate taxation, the default position is still based on income aggregation. This article examines the law, the possible reasons for it and its consequences. The continued use of the income aggregation principle is questioned, and an alternative approach is suggested.

This article examines the definition and treatment of tax losses in the computation of income. In particular, it addresses the scope of two anti-avoidance provisions aimed at counter-acting schemes that exploit accumulated tax losses in companies. Among other things, it highlights the need for legislative reform to deal with the ineffectiveness and flaws in these provisions.

Expenses incurred in the production of gross income would be deductible so that it would only be net income which would be subject to income tax. Expenses, to be deductible, must satisfy certain statutory requirements under the Income Tax Act. This article examines the general principles of deductibility under the Act and identifies and addresses potential problems in the application of these statutory requirements.

Under Singapore's Westminster derived parliamentary government system, the President as the ceremonial head of state possessed very limited residual discretionary powers. The Constitution, incorporating British convention, requires the President to act in accordance with Cabinet advice. Come 1991, Singapore remained a dominant one party state with untrammeled power reposed in the Cabinet. By constitutional amendment, the presidency was transformed into an elective office vested with certain negatively couched discretionary powers to check the powerful parliamentary executive. This article examines the development of the institution and the major amendments which have taken place pertaining to the elected presidency since its inception. It assesses the extent to which the presidency has effectively "clipped the wings" of the government that created it. In particular, the first constitutional reference heard on March 17, 1995 under the newly created Article 100 tribunal is discussed.

This article is partly historical and partly theoretical. The first part traces the history of legal professional privilege as applied in the common law and chancery courts from the sixteenth to the middle of the nineteenth century. It shows that the manner in which the purpose and role of the privilege were conceptualized had an impact on the evolution of the rule. The many judicial theories identified in the historical account are assessed at the broader level in the second part. Of all the different justifications, the privilege, it is argued, is best seen as a principle of process fairness.

Taking the lead from the UK's Insolvency Act 1986, the Bankruptcy Act 1995 introduced into our bankruptcy laws novel concepts of transactions at an undervalue and extortionate credit transactions. At the same time, it revamped the law with regard to the giving of preferences. These new features are also made applicable to companies in winding up and judicial management. The following paper analyses the new provisions and the likely problems faced in their application. Particular attention is directed at the special difficulties which arise in their application to companies.