Singapore to Enter into Model 1 FATCA IGA

The Ministry of Finance and the Inland Revenue Service of Singapore have announced that Singapore intends to conclude a Model 1 Intergovernmental Agreement ("IGA") on FATCA with the United States. In its statement, the Ministry indicated that this decision was based in part on feedback received from financial institutions located in Singapore that Model 1 offers stronger operational efficiencies and has a lower implementation cost.

Singapore also announced that it was taking three other steps to improve its international exchange of information framework. First, Singapore will extend the internationally agreed standard for exchange of information to all of its treaty partners automatically, rather than separately negotiate amendments to each agreement. Second, Singapore will join with the United States, the U.K. and France in signing the Convention for Mutual Administrative Assistance on Tax Matters. These two steps will increase the number of countries with which Singapore has agreed to exchange information to 83. Finally, Singapore will streamline requests for exchanges of information by authorizing the Inland Revenue Service of Singapore to directly obtain bank and trust information from Singapore financial institutions without a court order.

See: Press Release and Annex.Questions on this item may be directed to Dan Mulcahy.