Assets in Dubai Scholz can buy data on tax fraud

Status: 11.06.2021 5:57 p.m.

Finance Minister Scholz has initiated an explosive deal. An anonymous informant obtained data on thousands of Germans who own assets in Dubai. It is about uncovering tax fraud, said Scholz. Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz wants to intensify the fight against tax fraud. “At my instigation, the Federal Central Tax Office procured a CD containing tax-relevant data from the Emirate of Dubai,” he said in Berlin. These data would soon be evaluated by the federal states. It is about uncovering possible crimes such as tax fraud. “Tax evasion is not a trivial offense, but a criminal act.”

Exclusive 08/12/2020

Data leak Bank is said to have helped with tax fraud The BKA searched the houses and business premises of German customers of a bank in Puerto Rico.

Assets hidden from the tax authorities?

The “Spiegel” had first reported on the process. An anonymous informant offered the data. The purchase cost the Federal Central Tax Office around two million euros. According to the magazine, millions of taxpayers are said to be affected, including several thousand Germans who, among other things, have land and real estate in the Gulf emirate. The data provided insights into assets that were hidden from the tax authorities in Dubai, according to the ministry report. In addition to clearing up criminal offenses, the data also ensured that the tax authorities would have full access to cross-border transactions. This would avoid loss of income.

07/12/2019

European financial supervision Tax deal fraud continues According to a report by the European Financial Market Authority, there are still tax-driven transactions.

Handover to the federal states next week

After the secret handover of the material, the data is now, according to the “Spiegel” report, at the Federal Central Tax Office in Bonn. Next week they should be sent to the tax authorities of the federal states so that they can examine aspects of criminal tax law and, if necessary, initiate investigations. So far, only federal states had bought tax data. The then North Rhine-Westphalian finance minister and today’s SPD leader Norbert Walter-Borjans bought several tax data CDs. He was NRW Minister of Finance from 2010 to 2017.