Singapore promise to improve disclosure on tax evasion after pressure from OECD. Didn't the government previously deny that Singapore is a tax haven?
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUST22374620090427
Singapore says to improve disclosure on tax evasion
Mon Apr 27, 2009 5:55am EDT
TOKYO, April 27 (Reuters) - Singapore will revise its laws this year to improve disclosure on foreigners evading income taxes in their home countries, the island nation's finance minister told his Japanese counterpart according to a Japanese Finance Ministry official.
Singapore agreed at the beginning of March to bring its tax laws in line with Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standards after the Paris-based group put it on a "grey list" of countries that have not signed international accords to combat tax evasion.
Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano welcomed Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam's pledge, the official told reporters after the two met on Monday.
World leaders said at a Group of 20 summit this month that they would crack down on tax havens, including sanctions against non-cooperative jurisdictions, by using information from the OECD.
Singapore's government has previously denied suggestions that the country is a tax haven. It has strict bank secrecy laws and has been promoting itself as a rival financial centre to Hong Kong to attract banks such as UBS (UBSN.VX), Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) and Citigroup (C.N) to manage money for rich local and foreign clients.
Tharman also told Yosano that he hoped officials could agree on a broad range of measures, including expanding currency swaps, at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, South Korea and Japan on May 3, according to the official.
Asian countries pledged last year to pool bilateral currency swap arrangements under the Chiang Mai Initiative in an $80 billion multilateral fund that could be tapped in emergencies. ASEAN groups Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Jan Dahinten)
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