United States: Singapore Agrees In Substance To FATCA IGA

On May 6, 2014, the Ministry of Finance of Singapore announced that Singapore had agreed in substance on a Model 1 FATCA IGA.  Under the  IGA, Singapore-based financial institutions will report information on financial accounts held by U.S. persons to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), which will in turn provide the information to the IRS.  The announcement provided no indication of whether the IGA would be reciprocal.

The announcement comes just under two months before 30% withholding begins on July 1, 2014.  The announcement also comes against a backdrop of widespread speculation that many Americans fled Swiss banks for the presumed safety of Singaporean banks in the wake of the 2009 UBS deferred prosecution agreement.