Singapore To Align Tax Code With International Standards

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

01 June 2009

Singapore's government has announced it is looking at ways of amending its tax code so that it meets new international standards.

The announcement was made in Parliament on May 28 by the country's Second Finance Minister, Lim Hwee Hua, who said that the government is actively working towards being removed from the 'grey list' compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The OECD's list - which is divided into black, white and grey sections - names the countries that share little or no tax information.

'Whitelist' countries are those who have met all international standards, as defined by the OECD, 'greylist' countries are those which are committed to the standards, but haven't yet implemented them in full, and 'blacklist' countries are those which have not committed themselves to the standards. However, there are currently no countries on the blacklist.

Ms Lim reiterated Singapore's desire to align itself fully with international tax standards, announcing:

"We are working on the draft legislative amendments. They will be aired for public consultation in the middle of the year before we proceed to introduce the amendments in Parliament."

"Singapore does not and will not stand for the abuse of its laws to shelter financial criminals and their ill-gotten proceeds," she added.

Recommended