Singapore to adopt OECD rule against tax evasion

It’s easing up on bank secrecy.

Singapore will implement a global agreement on swapping tax information, aimed at ending offshore tax evasion, by 2018, provided certain conditions are met, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said.

According to a report by Reuters, Singapore would adopt the standard drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that will require countries to automatically share taxpayers' financial information as along as rival wealth management centers do the same.

"There must be a level playing field among all major financial centers, including Hong Kong, Dubai, Switzerland and Luxembourg, to minimize regulatory arbitrage," he said in a written response to a parliamentary question.
Last week, finance ministers and tax chiefs from 51 countries, including Luxembourg, signed up to be "early adopters" of the new OECD standard.

View the full report here.