原文
Liechtenstein Scandal
2008 Liechtenstein Banking Scandal Introduction
In February 2008 Germany announced that it had paid EUR 4.2 million to Heinrich Kieber, a former data archivist of LGT Treuhand, a Liechtenstein bank, for a list of 1250 customers of the bank and their accounts details. Investigations and arrests followed relating to charges of illegal tax evasion. The German authorities shared the data with U.S. tax authorities, but the British government paid a further GBP100,000 for the same data. Other governments, notably Denmark and Sweden, refused to pay for the information, regarding it a stolen property. The Liechtenstein authorities accused the German authorities of espionage.
However, regardless of whether unlawful tax evasion was being engaged in, the incident has fuelled the perception amongst European governments and press that tax havens provide facilities shrouded in secrecy designed to facilitate unlawful tax evasion, rather than legitimate tax planning and legal tax mitigation schemes. This in turn has led to a call for “crackdowns” on tax havens. Whether the calls for such a crackdown are mere posturing or lead to more definitive activity by mainstream economies to restrict access to tax havens is yet to be seen. No definitive announcements or proposals have yet been made by the European Union or governments of the member states. Whether or not unlawful tax avoidance was going on, Liechtenstein’s reputation has inevitably been damaged, as customers expect their banks, whether onshore or offshore, to protect their data against unauthorized disclosure.
Liechtenstein Tax Affair
The 2008 Liechtenstein tax affair is a series of tax investigations in numerous countries whose governments suspect that some of their citizens may have evaded tax obligations by using banks and trusts in Liechtenstein. The affair broke open with the biggest complex of investigations ever initiated for tax evasion in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is seen also as an attempt to put pressure on Liechtenstein, one of the remaining uncooperative tax havens-along with Andorra and Monaco, as identified by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2007.
Background
Millions of euros belonging to hundreds of citizens living in Germany were channeled into the LGT Bank and other banks in Liechtenstein, taking advantage of Liechtenstein-based trusts to evade paying taxes in Germany. According to the prosecutor’s office these trusts “have been created apparently only to evade paying taxes.” According to the law in Liechtenstein, such trusts allow the separation of monetary assets from their owners and are kept anonymously. In contrast to trusts of most other countries, Liechtenstein trusts can be revoked at any time and the assets will be returned to the owner. Furthermore, such trusts as well as their maintaining shell entities are only charged 0.1% (minimum 1,000 Swiss francs) annually. Liechtenstein thus is known to be a tax haven.
Investigations
Germany
According to the lead prosecuting office responsible for economic crime in Bochum, which is supported by prosecuting offices in other towns as well as the criminal police, currently about 600 to 700 individuals are suspected in the investigations. In addition, search warrants have been issued. An official confirmation about the total number of suspects and amount of money involved has not yet been issued. According to the prosecutors, current investigations provide a “very high level of evidence.”
The affair became known on February 14, 2008, when a raid was conducted against Klaus Zumwinkel, the chief executive of Deutsche Post AG, under the suspicion that he evaded about EUR 1 million (USD 1.46 million) in taxes. Pressured by the government, Zumwinkel resigned from his position. Similarly a number of other individuals have been under investigation for months, and the appearance that the well-to-do have ways and means to evade the German tax laws has caused complaints about inequality.
参考译文
列支敦士登丑闻
2008年列支敦士登银行丑闻简介
2008年2月，德国宣布，该国向海因里希·基贝尔支付了420万欧元购买列支敦士登银行1250名客户名单及其账户详细资料。海因里希·基贝尔是LGT银行（一家列支敦士登银行）的前数据档案保管员。针对非法逃税行为的调查和逮捕行动迅速展开。德国当局与美国税务部门分享了这些资料，而英国政府则为相同的资料支付了10万英镑。其他国家政府，最为显著的是丹麦和瑞典，它们拒绝为这些偷来的财产进行支付。列支敦士登当局随后指控德国当局从事间谍活动。
然而，不论是否涉及非法逃税行为，此次事件助长了欧洲各国政府与媒体的这种认识：避税地以保密为名，旨在协助非法逃税行为，而不是协助合法税务规划与合法缓税计划。这继而导致“镇压”避税地的呼声。这些呼声是仅仅装腔作势，还是会引起主流经济体对限制利用避税地采取更加明确的措施，仍有待观察。不管是欧盟还是其成员国政府都未作出明确的声明或提议。不管是否存在非法逃税行为，列支敦士登的名声已经不可避免地遭到了损害，因为客户希望他们的银行，不论境内境外，能够保护他们的资料免于未经授权而被泄露。
列支敦士登税务事件
2008年列支敦士登税务事件是指许多国家展开的一系列的税务调查事件，这些国家的政府怀疑，其部分公民可能通过列支敦士登的银行与信托机构逃避了纳税义务；德意志联邦共和国发起的有史以来规模最大、最全面的逃税行为调查导致了该事件的公开。它也被视为企图对列支敦士登施加压力的行动，因为2007年12月总部位于巴黎的经济合作与发展组织宣布，列支敦士登是剩余的几个拒绝合作的避税地之一，其余两个是安道尔和摩纳哥。
背景
德国几百名居民把数百万欧元存入列支敦士登的LGT和其他银行，借助总部设在列支敦士登的信托机构逃避德国税收。检察官办公室表示：“这些信托机构的成立显然只是为了逃税。”根据列支敦士登公国法律，这样的信托机构允许货币资产与资产所有人分离，实行匿名存款。与大多数其他国家不同，列支敦士登的托管可以随时撤销，资产归还其所有人。这样的信托公司以及其控股机构每年仅仅收取0.1%的税率（最低额度1000瑞士法郎）。因此，列支敦士登被称为避税天堂。
调查
德国
此次检举带头人——负责经济犯罪的德国波鸿地区办公厅说，目前在调查中，有600人到700人有犯罪嫌疑。该办公厅得到了其他城市检举办公厅与刑事警察局的支持。另外，有关部门还发出了搜查令。关于涉及的嫌疑犯的总人数以及财产总额，官方尚未作出确认。检察官说，目前的调查提供了极为有力的证据。
2008年2月14日，德国邮政股份有限公司总裁克劳斯·楚姆温克尔遭到突袭搜捕，他被怀疑逃税，逃税总额大约为100万欧元（146万美元），从而税务事件开始为人所知。在政府的压力下，楚姆温克尔辞去了他的职位。同样，许多其他个人在几个月内也遭到了调查，富人总有方法和手段逃避德国税法的现象引起了人们对不平等的抱怨。