Singapore, UK Sign Pact To Exchange Data In Fight Against Tax Evaders

Tom Burroughes

19 September 2016

Singapore's tax authority has signed an agreement with the UK to combat tax evasion, the latest in a series of moves by the Asian city-state to clamp down on illicit money.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and its UK counterpart, HM Revenue and Customs, have agreed to share financial account information, with the arrangement taking full force by September 2018.

The pact is based on the common reporting standard (CRS), which has been endorsed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, IRAS said in a statement last Friday.

IRAS will automatically share with HMRC financial account information of accounts in Singapore held by UK tax residents, while HMRC will do the same with IRAS for the financial account information of accounts in the UK held by Singapore tax residents, it said.

Singapore and the UK will commence automatic exchange of information under the CRS by September 2018, IRAS said. Singapore recently signed a similar agreement with Australia.

The CRS is a global framework under which scores of jurisdictions will begin to automatically exchange data from 2017 and 2018. The CRS framework is part of government efforts in many countries to combat tax evasion and stem outflows of revenues, a process that accelerated in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.