SINGAPORE is studying amendments to align its tax code with new international standards and will put them out for public consultation as early as next month, said Second Finance Minister Lim Hwee Hua.
Mrs Lim was responding to questions in Parliament yesterday on what the Government is doing to get off a 'grey list' compiled by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development).
The list details countries it considers to be lax on sharing information on tax, thus hampering efforts to curb tax avoidance.
Said Mrs Lim: 'We discussed this issue in Parliament in February this year, and the Government gave clear indication of its intention to endorse the OECD standard. We decided to do so as the OECD standard had become an internationally accepted benchmark following its endorsement by the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters in October 2008.'
The OECD has drawn up black, grey and white lists of countries based on their willingness to adhere to its standards. Black-list nations are those that have 'not committed to implement the internationally agreed tax standard'. Those on the grey list, which include Singapore, are said to be committed to the standards but have yet to fully implement them, while the 'whites' have largely enforced the international rules.
Uruguay, Costa Rica, Malaysia and the Philippines were originally on the black list but have since been moved to grey after they said they would put things right. The 40-strong white list includes Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim asked the Government to explain why it decided only this year to commit to the new standards.
Mrs Lim replied that Singapore 'never stood still' and once the OECD standards were recognised as an internationally agreed benchmark by the UN Committee, the Government acted.
She told MPs that the OECD has made it clear that it does not regard Singapore as a tax haven.
