Singapore Welcomes the OECD’s Recommendations to Counter Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”)

1. Singapore welcomes the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) final BEPS recommendations to the G20 for an international approach to combat tax avoidance. We believe that sound implementation of the BEPS principles, with all tax jurisdictions being included in the process, will help foster free and fair economic competition.

2. Singapore supports the BEPS principle that profits should be taxed where substantive economic activities generating the profits are performed and where value is created. We do not condone activities aimed at base erosion and profit shifting. Our tax policies support substantive economic activities, so as to create skilled jobs and business innovation, and build new capabilities in Singapore.

3. Singapore also adopts the internationally-agreed arm's length principle^[1] for the determination of prices for transactions between related parties. Our tax treaties incorporate provisions that guard against treaty abuse, and provide for exchange of information upon request in line with the internationally-agreed standard.

4. Singapore has been participating actively in BEPS discussions at various international fora and will continue to work with the international community to counter cross-border profit shifting.

5. As jurisdictions study the recommendations, it is important to recognise the useful role of tax policies, underpinned by prudent fiscal strategies, in generating substantive economic activities. The BEPS project should not inadvertently end up stifling competition for substantive economic activities, raising taxes worldwide, and impeding global growth.

Commenting on the BEPS recommendations, Singapore’s Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat, said: “Cross-border tax issues require coordinated international solutions. To maintain a stable pro-growth global environment for investment while minimising opportunities for tax arbitrage, BEPS recommendations should be consistently applied across all state and non-state tax jurisdictions to ensure a level playing field. Singapore supports an inclusive monitoring mechanism that is conducted in a fair, open and objective manner with participation on an equal footing by all relevant tax jurisdictions.”

Issued by Ministry of Finance
6 October 2015
Singapore

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^[1] The arm’s length principle is the international standard to guide transfer pricing. It requires the transaction with a related party to be made under comparable conditions and circumstances as a transaction with an independent party.