Germany, Monaco Sign TIEA

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

03 August 2010

Germany and the principality of Monaco have signed in Berlin a bilateral tax information exchange agreement (TIEA), marking an important step in combating tax evasion.

According to the German finance ministry, the agreement will grant the German tax authorities access to key information necessary for the enforcement of German tax law. This includes bank data as well as information concerning the distribution of property. The ministry also notes that data access is not dependent on whether or not criminal tax proceedings have been initiated or indeed whether or not there is suspicion of a criminal tax offence.

According to the German finance ministry, with the signing of the agreement, Monaco has demonstrated that it is prepared to work together with Germany, on the basis of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) standards on transparency and effective information exchange in tax matters, to actively support the battle against tax evasion.

The German finance ministry notes that Germany, together with other G20 states, is committed to implementing the OECD standards internationally, and that the latest agreement underlines the government’s efforts to further extend its network of bilateral agreements on tax information exchange, in particular with states and areas with financial centres.

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