In a joint statement the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Finance have rebutted claims of undermining a newly implemented tax amnesty by Indonesia.
The rebuttal came after claims from selected Indonesian media outlets had accused Singapore, and its banks, of concocting unique structures that would allow wealthy Indonesians to leave their assets in the city state instead of repatriating them.
Stashed Offshore
finews.asia reported on the passing of the amnesty bill which is hoped to see substantial offshore funds return to Indonesia. The Finance Ministry in Jakarta expects the tax amnesty program to encourage Indonesians to declare in the region of $303 billion assets it believes are stashed overseas. This would allow President Joko Widodo to underpin and maintain current levels of government spending.
Now following reports in the Indonesian media that claimed some Singaporean banks were offering to pay the tariff difference of four percent against two percent, (the difference between declaring the assets and not repatriating them to Indonesia between July and September), an official statement has been made to clarify the situation.
Joint Statement
During the weekend Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) issued the following statement:
«Recent claims in the Indonesian media that Singapore is implementing policies to ‘thwart’ Indonesia’s tax amnesty programme are untrue. Singapore has not cut tax rates or changed any of our policies in response to Indonesia’s Tax Amnesty Programme.
We subscribe to internationally agreed standards for combating money laundering and for exchange of information. If there is any case of suspected cross-border tax evasion, concerned authorities can approach Singapore – we have assisted and will continue to assist in line with the international standards.»
