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Tunku Ismail, who is also the crown prince and regent of Malaysia’s Johor state, said in a Thursday post on X that, as a regular taxpayer, he found the levy to be normal, as reported by Free Malaysia Today.

“No complication and more than happy to contribute to both countries. Should make it double,” he said, replying to comments about an earlier Bloomberg report on his plan to sell a 16.6-hectare site between Holland Road and Tyersall Avenue in Singapore.

The report had claimed that the tax, known as a land betterment charge and estimated at more than S$2 billion (US$1.6 billion), was complicating negotiations between Tunku Ismail and potential buyers, as he had wanted any buyer to foot the bill.

The charge applies when Singapore gives planning permissions or other approvals that increase the land’s value and is aimed at returning part of the resulting economic gain to the community.

It is payable by the owner of the land at the time the approval is granted, though one or more other parties can be nominated to pay the charge.

Tunku Ismail had applied to the city-state’s Urban Redevelopment Authority in March to build low-density housing and luxury homes known as good-class bungalows (GCBs) on the site.

The agency subsequently proposed rezoning the site for residential use, The Business Times reported.

The land could be worth S$3.8-4.7 billion if rezoned, according to Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at local property portal Mogul.sg.

The Singapore Land Authority has said the amount payable “will be determined following the grant of permission to develop the land.”

The 16.6-ha site includes land held by the Johor royal family for more than a century, as well as a plot Tunku Ismail obtained through a land swap with the Singaporean government last year.

The swap was aimed at moving any development on the site farther from the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tunku Ismail is the eldest of Sultan Ibrahim’s six children. The Johor royal family’s wealth was estimated at US$5.7 billion in 2024, with property holdings in Singapore accounting for a sizable portion of that fortune.

The 16.6 ha site includes land that has been held by the Johor royal family for more than a century, along with a plot that Tunku Ismail obtained through a land swap with the Singaporean government last year aimed at moving any development on the plot farther from the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Johor royal family, headed by Ismail’s father, king Ibrahim Iskandar, was estimated to have a fortune of US$5.7 billion in 2024, with their Singapore estate making up a substantial share.