The Parliamentary State Secretary to the German Finance Ministry, Barbara Hendricks announced on Wednesday that the law governing banking secrecy would not need to be amended at present, as long as the Bundestag approved measures proposed by the Finance Minister, Hans Eichel, to combat money laundering.
Ms Hendricks confirmed that the government's medium term plans are to close loopholes in the country's tax system, before moving on at a later point to re-examine German banking confidentiality law. She also confirmed plans to treat serious tax evasion as a criminal offense and a preliminary stage in the money laundering process in order to make it easier to investigate.
Speaking to parliament, she defended the Finance Minister's proposal for a central register of bank accounts held in Germany, which has alarmed tax experts and civil liberties groups alike, and earlier this week caused the President of the German association of tax consultants, Jurgen Pinne, to condemn Mr Eichel as 'shooting well beyond his target'.
Ordinary German taxpayers would have nothing to fear from the new measures, argued Ms Hendricks, as only names, dates of birth, and account opening details would be stored in the central register, with account movements and statements remaining protected.
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