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Berlin to share tax list information
By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin and Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt
Published: February 25 2008 20:07 | Last updated: February 25 2008 20:07
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Finland, Sweden and Norway are understood to have already expressed an interest in the data, obtained by the German intelligence service.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
UK turned down Liechtenstein tax list - Feb-24
Germany to ‘tighten screws’ on tax havens - Feb-22
US probes alleged tax abuses - Feb-22
Man in the News: Crown Prince Alois - Feb-22
Tax raids draw voters to German left - Feb-22
Swiss apology for ‘Nazi’ tax insult - Feb-21
“We are going to respond to requests in this regard,” said Thorsten Albig, spokesman for the finance ministry, adding that Germany would not charge a fee for the information.
The move threatens to extend the massive scope of Germany’s crackdown on suspected tax dodgers, which began two weeks ago.
The US and the UK are already using information acquired separately from the same informant to track down offenders at home. Dave Hartnett, acting director of HM Revenue & Customs in the UK, said the information could lead to the recovery of £100m in unpaid taxes.
“HMRC is determined to protect the UK’s tax base from evasion and in doing so we will use all the statutory powers we have,” he said. “It should now be clear to everyone that that there is no safe hiding place for the proceeds of tax evasion.”
Dutch officials are understood to have been in contact with Berlin to ascertain whether any Dutch taxpayers are on the list of Liechtenstein bank clients. The Dutch finance ministry declined to comment beyond noting a history of close co-operation between the Dutch and German tax services and fiscal police.
The BND intelligence agency paid a former employee of Liechtenstein’s LGT bank €4.2m (£3m, $6m) last summer for a list of German and non-German holders of anonymous trusts managed by the bank. Berlin believes many of these investors take advantage of Liechtenstein’s strict bank secrecy rules to hide assets from the tax authorities. Germany expects to recover hundreds of millions of euros.
In a statement, LGT said it believed the data obtained by the BND contained information about 1,400 clients, only 600 of whom were German residents. “Apparently, the stolen data material has also been illegally disclosed, directly or indirectly, to other authorities,” the bank wrote. “LGT regards such methods as being extremely offensive.”
Franz Bielefeld, lawyer and tax expert at Munich law firm RP Richter & Partner, said his firm “would advise clients to step forward voluntarily and contact their tax authorities”.
German state prosecutors in Bochum, who are leading the investigation, plan to inform the public about the state of their inquiry on Tuesday. A person close to the probe said officials were also eyeing clients of a small Swiss bank with an international presence.
One person familiar with the investigation said that the last time German prosecutors used whistleblower data on a case involving Liechtenstein between 2000 and 2007, they offered to share data with “about a dozen” other countries, all of which turned down the opportunity.
Berlin to share tax list information
By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin and Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt
Published: February 25 2008 20:07 | Last updated: February 25 2008 20:07
function floatContent(){var paraNum = "3" paraNum = paraNum - 1;var tb = document.getElementById('floating-con');var nl = document.getElementById('floating-target');if(tb.getElementsByTagName("div").length> 0){if (nl.getElementsByTagName("p").length>= paraNum){nl.insertBefore(tb,nl.getElementsByTagNam e("p")[paraNum]);}else {if (nl.getElementsByTagName("p").length == 3){nl.insertBefore(tb,nl.getElementsByTagName("p")[2]);}else {nl.insertBefore(tb,nl.getElementsByTagName("p")[0]);}}}}Tax evaders across the world with bank accounts in Liechtenstein face investigation by national tax inspectors after Germany said it would share information on accounts held in the tax haven with any government that wanted it.
Finland, Sweden and Norway are understood to have already expressed an interest in the data, obtained by the German intelligence service.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
UK turned down Liechtenstein tax list - Feb-24
Germany to ‘tighten screws’ on tax havens - Feb-22
US probes alleged tax abuses - Feb-22
Man in the News: Crown Prince Alois - Feb-22
Tax raids draw voters to German left - Feb-22
Swiss apology for ‘Nazi’ tax insult - Feb-21
“We are going to respond to requests in this regard,” said Thorsten Albig, spokesman for the finance ministry, adding that Germany would not charge a fee for the information.
The move threatens to extend the massive scope of Germany’s crackdown on suspected tax dodgers, which began two weeks ago.
The US and the UK are already using information acquired separately from the same informant to track down offenders at home. Dave Hartnett, acting director of HM Revenue & Customs in the UK, said the information could lead to the recovery of £100m in unpaid taxes.
“HMRC is determined to protect the UK’s tax base from evasion and in doing so we will use all the statutory powers we have,” he said. “It should now be clear to everyone that that there is no safe hiding place for the proceeds of tax evasion.”
Dutch officials are understood to have been in contact with Berlin to ascertain whether any Dutch taxpayers are on the list of Liechtenstein bank clients. The Dutch finance ministry declined to comment beyond noting a history of close co-operation between the Dutch and German tax services and fiscal police.
The BND intelligence agency paid a former employee of Liechtenstein’s LGT bank €4.2m (£3m, $6m) last summer for a list of German and non-German holders of anonymous trusts managed by the bank. Berlin believes many of these investors take advantage of Liechtenstein’s strict bank secrecy rules to hide assets from the tax authorities. Germany expects to recover hundreds of millions of euros.
In a statement, LGT said it believed the data obtained by the BND contained information about 1,400 clients, only 600 of whom were German residents. “Apparently, the stolen data material has also been illegally disclosed, directly or indirectly, to other authorities,” the bank wrote. “LGT regards such methods as being extremely offensive.”
Franz Bielefeld, lawyer and tax expert at Munich law firm RP Richter & Partner, said his firm “would advise clients to step forward voluntarily and contact their tax authorities”.
German state prosecutors in Bochum, who are leading the investigation, plan to inform the public about the state of their inquiry on Tuesday. A person close to the probe said officials were also eyeing clients of a small Swiss bank with an international presence.
One person familiar with the investigation said that the last time German prosecutors used whistleblower data on a case involving Liechtenstein between 2000 and 2007, they offered to share data with “about a dozen” other countries, all of which turned down the opportunity.
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