The
Financial Times Deutschland reports that a German state government has bought a
second CD with data on tax dodgers. A dispute between Germany and Switzerland
over tax safe havens could re-ignite as a consequence.
The western
German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has reportedly purchased a second
CD containing the personal data of German tax evaders in Switzerland,
potentially jeopardizing a treaty aimed at resolving the dispute between the
two countries.
The
Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) reported on Saturday that the NRW state
government bought the CD for some 3.5 million euros ($4.2 million). The disc
supposedly contains information on 1,000 German citizens who have parked assets
in Switzerland to evade taxes in their home country.
The
individuals in question are mostly customers of private Coutts Bank, according
to FTD. Coutts is a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland and has served the
British royal family since the 18th century.
Purchasing
the CD could potentially torpedo a treaty agreed between Germany and
Switzerland that seeks to resolve the tax dispute.
Under that
agreement, German tax dodgers are to pay a 21 to 41 percent penalty on their
hidden assets in Switzerland. In turn, they will remain anonymous to German
authorities and not face prosecution.
Treaty
jeopardized
But Switzerland
made it a condition of the treaty that Germany would no longer purchase CDs
with information on Swiss banks' German clients. The agreement is supposed to
go into force in January 2013, pending approval by the upper house of the
German parliament, the Bundesrat.
However,
approval of the treaty by the Bundesrat is not necessarily guaranteed. The
opposition Social Democrats and Greens, who control the upper house, have
criticized the treaty as too lenient on tax cheats.
In 2010,
the German government recouped some 1.6 billion euros from tax dodgers after
buying a disc containing their personal data. In retaliation, Switzerland
issued arrest warrants on charges of economic espionage against three German
officials allegedly involved in acquiring the CD.
German
media claim that between 130 and 180 billion euros in German assets are hidden
in Switzerland.
slk/tj (AP, AFP, dpa)
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