During a state visit by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore and the United States announced they were negotiating a reciprocal Model 1 IGA. The countries had previously entered into a nonreciprocal Model 1 IGA in 2014 that went into effect on March 28, 2015. Unless Congress enacts legislation providing for greater collection of information from U.S. financial institutions, the reciprocal agreement will provide for limited exchange of information regarding Singapore residents who maintain accounts with U.S. financial institutions. The obligations of Singapore financial institutions would be unchanged. As part of the effort, the countries are negotiating the terms of a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA), and continue to discuss whether an income tax treaty should be negotiated. According to the statement, the countries hope to complete negotiations on the TIEA and reciprocal IGA by the end of 2017.
