Though the secret service paid €5 million, and the data is only up to 2005, the full scale of tax evasion may be more than a thousand rich German tax evaders with funds totalling up to €4 billion, of which authorities may recover hundreds of millions. Some culprits are already trying to forestall more serious punishment by reporting themselves to police.
Another angle of this giant scandal is that tax heaven Liechtenstein is outraged at this case of offensive espionage... *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
The tiny principality nestled between Switzerland and Austria was once one of the poorest countries in Europe. But since the 1920s, when it passed some extremely strict asset protection and privacy laws, it has become one of the world's wealthiest nations.
It's become wealthy, wo what it's doing is right.
The Alpine principality is in a state of high anxiety. For the second time, Liechtenstein's sacrosanct banking secrecy has been breached by a disgruntled employee working for one of the country's multitude of "letter-box" financial institutions. A third bank also appears to have been blackmailed by a rogue employee, but it ultimately decided to pay a "ransom" to avoid disclosing the names of its clients to the German tax authorities. This is bad news for wealthy tax avoiders. The latest scandal may have cost the job and reputation of one of Germany's most influential businessmen - Klaus Zumwinkel, Deutsche Post chief executive, - and is causing a growing political storm in Germany. But it could have far wider repercussions. If tax havens can no longer guarantee maximum confidentiality, what is the point of parking money in them?
This is bad news for wealthy tax avoiders. The latest scandal may have cost the job and reputation of one of Germany's most influential businessmen - Klaus Zumwinkel, Deutsche Post chief executive, - and is causing a growing political storm in Germany. But it could have far wider repercussions. If tax havens can no longer guarantee maximum confidentiality, what is the point of parking money in them?
Can you imagine? What is the world coming to, if you can no longer "avoid" taxes without stress? You can become subject to opprobrium and rogue criminalilty, in the form of blackmailers and "disgruntled employees."
The sheer chtuzpah of neglecting to point out that these tax "avoiders" are criminals, nothing else, and that the outrage is quite justified?!
But no, they are making lots of money, so they're the good guys... In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
