The German government has been offered a CD containing data concerning around 1,500 bank accounts in Switzerland where money has been squirreled away by Germans to avoid paying tax in Germany. The data was stolen. The asking price for the CD is € 2.5 million. The information is estimated to be worth around € 100 million to the German tax authorities.
The Swiss are, predictably, incandescent. Personally, as someone who pays taxes in Germany, I don't have much sympathy with those rich enough to avoid paying their taxes by trying to hide money in other countries and taking a hit for doing so. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the German government is giving a signal that certain kinds of crime pay, as long as the return from other criminals (rich tax dodgers) is big enough. In one sense, the government is undoubtedly guilty of the crime of knowingly receiving stolen goods. Should they do it? http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,675371,00.html Francis -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en.
