AS PART of its plan to bring local tax laws in line with new international standards, the Government is looking for public input on a new tax Bill.

Proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act include changes that will allow Singapore to enter into Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) with other countries.

At the heart of the amendments is the incorporation of internationally agreed standards on the exchange of information (EOI) for tax purposes.

In March, Singapore endorsed the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) 2008 Standard for the EOI through Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements.

The move came after the OECD standard was accepted as the global benchmark by the United Nations' Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters last October.

The Government said on Monday that it wanted to amend domestic laws to allow it to extend further cooperation on information exchange through DTAs that incorporate the new standard.

Key legislative changes include allowing the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore to provide information - including that held by a bank or trust company - in response to 'bona fide requests (from other tax jurisdictions) made under DTAs, which incorporate the (OECD) standard'.

Under such DTAs, the Singapore taxman's access to information will not be restricted to whether there is a domestic interest in gathering the information.

The Ministry of Finance said such provisions will boost the level of assistance that Singapore can provide foreign jurisdictions under DTAs.

Read the full report in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.