Singapore, Germany to enhance cooperation in tax matters

The ministries of finance of Singapore and Germany announced a joint statement on Sunday that they will enhance their tax cooperation in information exchange, aiming at tackling cross-border tax evasion. The agreement, which is scheduled to come into force after both sides' domestic ratification, is used to incorporate the internationally agreed Standard for Exchange of Information into their avoidance of double taxation agreement. As a result, the scope for exchanging information will be expanded significantly between the two countries. In the future, the related countries could exchange information for all types of tax, besides the existing taxes on income and capital. The exchange of information will also no longer depend on the taxpayer being resident in one of the contracting states. According to the statement, the requested state is also obligated to obtain information even when it does not itself require the requested information for tax purposes. Moreover, banking secrecy will then not be a obstacle in exchanging information. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is on his two-day visit in the city-state for enhancing bilateral financial ties between the two countries.