The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it has decided to extend its Exchange of Information (EOI) assistance to all existing partners, sign the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, allow its tax authority to obtain bank and trust information without requiring a court order and to conclude with the US an inter-governmental agreement which will facilitate Singapore financial institutions to comply with FATCA.
The government said it will make the legislative amendments necessary to implement all four changes by the end of this year.
The island state’s deputy prime minister and minster for finance, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, said: “These changes we are now making are a major enhancement, in step with the strengthening of international standards for exchange of information. But new standards can only work if all jurisdictions subscribe to them. Singapore will work with our international partners to achieve just that, and ensure there is no room for regulatory arbitrage. "
Shanmugaratnam, who is also chairman of the MAS, added: “There is no conflict between high standards of financial integrity and keeping our strengths as a centre for managing wealth. Singapore will continue to be a vibrant wealth management centre, with laws and rules that safeguard legitimate funds and reject tainted money.”
Most significant steps since 2009
In a statement, the MAS said the first two actions – signing the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the convention was developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the OECD in the 1980s – click here to learn more) and extending EOI to its existing tax agreement partners – would more than double the number of jurisdictions, from 41 to 83, Singapore will be able to exchange information with under the internationally agreed Standard for EOI.
The MAS said its decision to allow the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore to obtain bank and trust information without having to seek a court order is aimed at streamlining its administration of EOI but that it will not undermine the “basic safeguards to taxpayers”.
Meanwhile the central bank said its decision to sign up to an IGA with the US to implement FATCA “will ease the compliance burden of financial institutions in Singapore with FATCA”.
The raft of measures announced today mark the most significant steps Singapore has taken to combat tax evasion since it adopted the internationally agreed Standard for EOI in 2009.
The MAS points out today’s announcement also follow measures introduced in 2011 to ensure Singapore’s financial system is not used to harbour illegitimate funds or as a conduit for the flow of undeclared assets. As part of those rules, from 1 July it will become a criminal offence to launder the proceeds of serious tax offences in Singapore.
In a closing statement, the MAS said it is “fully committed to working with our international partners to combat cross-border tax offences”.
It added that “this includes assistance in connection with the recent disclosure that the tax authorities of Australia, UK and US are investigating complex offshore structures that may be involved in wrongdoing”.
Click here to read about the recent announcement from the Australian, US and UK tax authorities
