Saturday 4 April 2009

Grey list

Singapore is on it, but is committed to tax rules

1 comment:

Guanyu said...

Grey list

Singapore is on it, but is committed to tax rules

By Michelle Tay
4 April 2009

Singapore has been placed on a ‘grey list’ of countries that have agreed to comply with rules on tax dodging but have yet to act.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Thursday named two lists of nations - one black and one grey - that were not doing enough to help crack down on tax cheats and excessive bank secrecy.

The lists were made public as the Group of 20 leaders from rich and developing nations declared at their London summit that the age of banking secrecy was over and that they would no longer tolerate shady havens draining away badly needed tax revenue.

The grey list comprises 38 countries - including Switzerland and Monaco - that say they have ‘committed to the internationally agreed tax standard, but have not yet substantially implemented’ it.

Four places that have not yet agreed to change banking secrecy practices were put on a blacklist for being uncooperative tax havens.

The OECD estimates that anywhere between US$1.7 trillion (S$2.6 trillion) and US$11.5 trillion of assets are held offshore globally.

Reacting yesterday to being on the grey list, the Swiss finance minister issued a statement saying: ‘The list does not specify the criteria on the basis of which it was drawn up. Switzerland is not a tax haven.’

Meanwhile, the Philippines called its position on the blacklist ‘unfortunate’ and said ‘we are confident that we will meet the requirements for removal from this list’.

The Ministry of Finance told The Straits Times: ‘As expected, Singapore has not been classified by the OECD as a tax haven but as a financial centre that has committed to the internationally recognised tax standard.

‘This recognises that Singapore has endorsed the OECD Standard for the exchange of information through Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs), and intends to implement the Standard by effecting legislative amendments later this year and negotiating and concluding relevant DTAs.

‘Singapore’s position in this regard is no different from that of other major financial centres such as Hong Kong, Switzerland and Luxembourg.’

Singapore is coming under increased scrutiny after emerging as a private-banking centre in recent years with about US$300 billion under management. But private bankers here think the ‘grey’ list will have ‘minimal impact’ on Singapore’s reputation as a wealth management centre.

Mr. Richard Wee, chief executive officer of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie (Singapore), said: ‘Most countries, including Singapore, have already committed to complying to standards. It just takes time and steps to get it done.

‘The majority of the funds from Europe are coming here because of Singapore’s geographical proximity to China and India. Asia is a bit less clustered and there’s a lot of activity for them. Banking secrecy is not the top draw.’

The OECD also issued a list of 40 countries that had substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standard. It included Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.