Singapore promise to improve disclosure on tax evasion after
pressure from OECD. Didn’t the government
previously deny that Singapore is a tax haven?
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUS…
Singapore says to improve disclosure on tax evasion
Mon Apr 27, 2009 5:55am EDT
TOKYO, April 27 (Reuters) – Singapore will
revise its laws this year to improve disclosure on foreigners
evading income taxes in their home countries, the island nation’s
finance minister told his Japanese counterpart according to a
Japanese Finance Ministry official.
Singapore agreed at the beginning of March to bring its tax laws
in line with Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) standards after the Paris-based group put it on a “grey
list” of countries that have not signed international accords to
combat tax evasion.
Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano welcomed Singapore
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s pledge, the official told
reporters after the two met on Monday.
World leaders said at a Group of 20 summit this month that they
would crack down on tax havens, including sanctions against
non-cooperative jurisdictions, by using information from the
OECD.
Singapore’s government has previously denied suggestions that
the country is a tax haven. It has strict bank secrecy laws and has
been promoting itself as a rival financial centre to Hong Kong to
attract banks such as UBS (UBSN.VX), Credit
Suisse (CSGN.VX) and Citigroup (C.N) to manage money for rich local
and foreign clients.
Tharman also told Yosano that he hoped officials could agree on
a broad range of measures, including expanding currency swaps, at a
meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, South
Korea and Japan on May 3, according to the official.
Asian countries pledged last year to pool bilateral currency
swap arrangements under the Chiang Mai Initiative in an $80 billion
multilateral fund that could be tapped in emergencies. ASEAN groups Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore,
Vietnam, Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei.
(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Jan Dahinten)
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