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Swiss want to tax loot from stolen CDs

Published: 5 Oct 12 08:26 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20121005-45371.html

Swiss tax authorities want to tax money made in 2010 on stolen information about 1,500 suspected German tax cheats holding bank accounts in Switzerland, media reported Thursday.

Tax authorities in the canton of Zurich are demanding 1.5 million Swiss francs ($1.6 million, €1.2 million) from the family of an Austrian man who committed suicide after he was arrested in September 2010 for stealing and selling the data to authorities in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the ATS news agency reported.

The 42-year-old Credit Suisse employee reportedly received 2.5 million Swiss francs for the stolen data, which led German authorities to raid branches of the Swiss bank in 13 German cities.

According to ATS, Swiss authorities had blocked the heirs' access to his entire estate in anticipation of the tax payment.

The tax cheat data incident caused a major row between Germany and Switzerland, which reacted angrily, saying the data were stolen in violation of its banking secrecy laws.

As much as €180 billion in German assets are hidden in Switzerland, according to unconfirmed German media reports.

A tax deal between the two countries, aimed at ending such disputes, is to take effect in January 2013 but still needs to be ratified by both houses of the German parliament.

AFP/bk

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

09:12 October 5, 2012 by pepsionice
Since you can tax just about anything....taxation on data is acceptable. The end result will be that the Germans will have to pay three times what they are paying now....to make any Swiss dealer of stolen data interested in a deal.
19:25 October 5, 2012 by Rischart99
I thought the Swiss authorities said this was criminal activity. If they are now taxing it (like a legitimate income) then the German authorities must have been right to buy it.

Maybe the next person to sell should do from another tax haven, so the Swiss will understand that beggar thy neighbour tax policies do no-one any good in the end.
22:56 October 5, 2012 by sonriete
This is how the Americans jail all of the Mafia leaders, they bust them for not paying taxes on the illegal income. The story of the boot legger Al Capone is very famous for this reason.

The Swiss shoulld go after every one of them, with interest and penalties as well.

Does anyone seriously think this "income" should go untaxed?
10:17 October 6, 2012 by Berlin fuer alles
Just surprised the Germans haven't figured out a way of taxing them also.
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