UK & Singapore increase the pressure on tax evaders

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It still comes as a surprise to some that the UK has, since 1993, included tax evasion as a notifiable offence under its anti-money laundering regime. Which, for students of history, was a Conservative Government decision (Ken Clarke, if my memory serves me correctly).

Now followers of the dark art of money laundering will know that placing the proceeds of crime and or transferring them through offshore financial centres / international transactions is an essentai step in the layering process. So Sept 1st 2009 was a bad day for those people as the Singapore and UK Govt. announced an agreement to improve information sharing between the two countries. Our friends at the Association of International Accountants have pointed out that in March 2009, Singapore endorsed the new internationally agreed Standard for the exchange of information for tax purposes. It'll take some time for the details to be thrashed out, but times continue to change.