Singapore yesterday cleared the final hurdle for complying with stricter standards for global banking centers after signing an agreement with France on the sharing of tax information.
The signing enabled the city-state to get off a “gray list” of countries that have not yet fully implemented standards set by the OECD, the industrialized nations’ club.
The Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) was signed by Singapore’s Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his French counterpart Christine Lagarde.
It was the 12th such agreement signed by Singapore — the minimum required by the OECD for a country to enter the elite “white list” of financial centers — and will come into force after formal passage by both parliaments.
“I am particularly pleased to sign today the 12th protocol which allows the withdrawing of Singapore from the OECD gray list,” Lagarde said.
The French minister said it was a “significant breakthrough” to see “such an important financial place” like Singapore reaching the OECD white list.
Shanmugaratnam said Singapore “will not stop at 12 agreements.”
“We expect to sign several more by the end of the year and will continue to negotiate such DTAs,” he said.
Singapore last month passed a law aimed at tightening the screws on cross-border tax cheats to comply with the OECD standards.
The island, a top Asian regional banking and corporate center and a favorite for the world’s millionaires to safely park their money, has denied being a haven for tax evaders.
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