In an effort to combat offshore tax evasion, the United States and Singapore have pledged to negotiate and sign by the end of 2016 a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) and a FATCA intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that provides for the reciprocal automatic exchange of financial account tax information.
The U.S. and Singapore governments issued a joint statement promising cooperation on tax issues affecting both nations. The intergovernmental agreement would provide for the reciprocal automatic exchange of information with respect to certain financial accounts under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The two countries are to complete negotiations and sign the agreements by the end of 2017.
Through the IGA, both the U.S. and Singapore are attempting to improve international tax compliance and provide for the implementation of FATCA. All of this is based on domestic reporting and the automatic exchange of information, subject to the confidentiality and other protections provided for within the IGA, including provisions limiting the use of the information exchanged between the two countries. The parties also wish to achieve common reporting and due diligence standards, while coordinating reporting obligations under FATCA and avoiding duplicative reporting.
Singapore has signed agreements with both the UK and Australia to automatically exchange financial account information. Exchanges with both jurisdictions will start in September 2018, after supporting customer due diligence obligations commence.
If you have questions about foreign holdings, assets, or accounts, contact THE TAX EXPERTS at the Thorgood Law Firm www.thorgoodlaw.com. For a FREE consultation, call 212-490-0704. An experienced tax professional may offer valuable assistance to any taxpayer for any tax issue.
