Germany will share tax hitlist

German authorities will share the list of Liechtenstein bank account holders with tax inspectors from other countries. Finland, Sweden, Holland and Norway have all expressed interest in accessing the information.

'We are going to respond to requests in this regard,' Thorsten Albig, a spokesman for the finance ministry, told the FT. Germany has said it will not charge a fee for the information on the accounts held in the tax haven.

The US and the UK are already using data acquired separately from the informant that supplied the German authorities. Germany's decision to share its information with others means several other tax evaders will be caught.

HMRC acting-chairman Dave Hartnett said the UK expected to recoup £100m in unpaid taxes by using the information.

'It should now be clear to everyone that there is no safe hiding place for the proceeds of tax evasion,' Hartnett said in a statement.

LGT, the Liechtenstein Bank whose account holder information was supplied to Germany by a former employee, said the data obtained by the Germans contained the information of 1,400 clients. Only 600 of these were German.

Further reading:

Liechtenstein evaders have 'substantial' tax to pay

HMRC paid informer £100,000