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Singapore Inches Out of Grey List, Amends Tax Law

Vanessa Doctor

20 October 2009

Singapore has joined the worldwide fight against tax evasion by passing an OECD-compliant amendment to its tax law Monday, Reuters reports.

The revised bill reportedly allows the Singaporean government to obtain client information from banks, particularly on individuals with questionable tax activities. The increased transparency has also been forecast to spur an exodus from clients in the Europe and the Middle East into Asia, as they seek to decrease their exposure to scandal-hit banks and take advantage of the region's rapid growth.

"This enhanced scope of cooperation will not only allow Singapore to provide greater assistance to its prescribed treaty partners, but also help Singapore obtain information for the enforcement of our domestic tax laws," Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was quoted to have said.

The amendment does not allow "fishing expeditions" and only applies to countries which have signed treaties with the city-state.

Singapore now has to sign just one more treaty to get out of the OECD's 'grey list'.