Singapore Offshore Banking
Singapore offshore banking has experienced a massive influx of income in the form of new
offshore banking accounts,
offshore companies and
offshore trusts in recent years. The benefits of banking services in Singapore for non-residents are detailed below:
- Singapore is seen as one of the last truly independent major
offshore banking centers remaining along with Panama and Hong Kong, due to its lack of ties to the OECD, EU and precious few tax information exchange agreements with other high tax countries.
- Singapore has strong bank secrecy laws.
- Singapore is a huge financial centre in its own right with a very highly developed infrastructure, knowledgeable professionals and secure monetary controls. Many major international banks maintain offshore banking units in Singapore.
- Although not tax free it has one of the lowest overall taxation rates in Asia. Residents of the Republic are not taxed on income earned overseas and any gains generated from investments made in Singapore itself remain tax exempt.
Singapore Offshore Business Banking
Many people have used Singapore companies,
bank accounts and virtual office services to effectively reduce the rate of tax they pay for their business. Singapore’s
banking secrecy additionally offers them a level of privacy and freedom to arrange their affairs as they please which they could not expect in other jurisdictions.
Disadvantages of Banking Offshore in Singapore
While it still remains an attractive destination for Indian and Chinese investors, the signs are that the ‘Switzerland’ of Asian offshore banking may become less favourable for US and EU citizens in the near future.
A large part of Singapore’s lure was its isolation from the EU Tax Savings Directive, which meant that
offshore bank account
holders in Singapore were not forced to pay a withholding tax or
otherwise disclose their personal information to their home country.
This may change soon for all
offshore bank accounts in Singapore as it looks to clean up its banking image internationally by looking to adopt the Organisation
of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standard for transparency
and effective exchange of tax information.
This looks like a runway to eventual membership of the Tax Savings Directive, and if that happens, the party is over for Offshore Banking in Singapore.
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