Singapore and ATO to share data to reduce tax evasion

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and the ATO have entered into an agreement on the automatic exchange of financial account information (based on the ‘Common Reporting Standard’).

This automatic exchange of financial information will commence by September 2018. Under the agreement, Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority will automatically exchange with the ATO financial account information of accounts in Singapore held by Australian tax residents, while the ATO will automatically exchange with Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority financial account information of accounts in Australia held by Singapore tax residents. Both jurisdictions are satisfied with the confidentiality rules and data safeguards that are in place in the other jurisdiction to ensure the confidentiality of information exchanged and prevent its unauthorised use.