Germany Purchases Stolen Tax Data Disc

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

11 June 2010

Following months of indecision and deliberation, the German government has announced its decision to jointly purchase with the federal state of Lower Saxony a stolen tax data disc, containing the names and details of more than 20,000 Germans alleged to have evaded taxes in Switzerland.

Initially offered to the German state of Baden-Württemberg back in February, the controversial disc, purchased for EUR185,000 (negotiated down from EUR500,000), is now in the hands of tax investigators.

Bowing to pressure from the Free Democratic Party and given unresolved legal concerns, Baden-Württemberg’s state government elected not to purchase the disc at the time. Marking an about-turn now, however, the state government is eager to make full use of the data contained on the disc.

Welcoming the government’s latest decision to jointly purchase the disc, and to subsequently transfer records to the relevant federal states, Dieter Ondracek, leader of the German tax union DSTG emphasized that it is a clear signal that the state is serious about prosecuting tax evaders and that tax evasion is not a trivial offence.

Germany’s financial authorities have estimated that the move will serve to generate tens of millions of euros in additional revenue, and are anticipating a new wave of self-declarations. Lower Saxony’s Finance Minister Hartmut Möllring has warned, however, that individuals appearing on the disc may not receive leniency even if they elect to provide a self-declaration.

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