Singapore To Host 2010 Global Forum On Transparency And Exchange of Information For Tax Purposes

1.             Singapore will host the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (“Global Forum”) from 30 September to 1 October 2010.

2.             The Global Forum, comprising over 90 jurisdictions, is responsible for assessing and monitoring through peer reviews the effective implementation of the internationally agreed Standard for exchange of information for tax purposes across jurisdictions.

3.             This is the first meeting of the Global Forum after it was constituted as a self-standing body in September 2009 in Mexico^[1]. The 2010 meeting of the Global Forum will review the preliminary outcomes of the peer review process and the progress made over the past one year. Singapore is Vice-Chair of the Forum’s Peer Review Group.

4.             Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Finance, Singapore said “Singapore is pleased to host the Global Forum at an important time – as it puts in place an objective peer review process aimed at monitoring the implementation of the internationally agreed standard for exchange of information. Singapore has been working actively with others to institute this process.”

MINISTRY OF FINANCE
25 JANUARY 2010

---

^[1] The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes was previously convened under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It was restructured in 2009 to become a self-standing body. This has allowed for all jurisdictions that have endorsed the internationally agreed Standard for exchange of information, whether OECD members or not, to participate on an equal footing to promote effective implementation of the Standard.