Seems Germany is now saying they will buy the stolen tax data which has details of German tax evaders using Swiss banks.

Now that Switzerland is in Schengen somebody should report the theft to Interpol. Stolen is stolen - regardless of the content.

The main German argument seems to be that for 2.5M euros they will get tax of 100M euros. You could use the same argument for any stolen goods - I mean buy them cheap & make a big profit.

Marton

Morally speaking, this is a tough one.

Germans who are on the list have almost certainly evaded paying taxes and are technically breaking German Law. But to find out who has not paid their taxes the German Gov. must "buy" stolen data.

So, to deter potential tax evaders and recuperate owed taxes the German Gov. is acting on the edge of legality itself and taking the view that the end justifies the means.

I wonder if German - or French citizens (something similar going on in France with stolen HSBC data), could take out counter-claims, or rely on the defence that the data is not usable in a court of law since it was stolen and cannot be relied upon?

hasn't Germany done this already with the guy from Lichtenstein where he nicked a lot of details "on commission"? I seem to remember something like this...

its a dangerous game to play, for the seller of the stolen data, your grassing on hundreds of the wealthiest people in your country, people who may not have got the money via legitimate means, your going to have to spend the rest of your life constantly looking over your shoulder.

James Bond doesn't run around casinos, jumping off helicopters. She works in admin for three years and meets her handler every two weeks. All countries do this, just Germany broke the Hollywood rule: Thou shallt not get caught...

I do not think the end justifies the means in this case.
The german government would just be encouraging future data thieves and hence criminals.

By trading with criminals, what sort of an example can a government provide to her citizens

I guess they want to say "For you [fellow German citizen], the tax evasion malarky is over! There is no hiding place!".

It amounts to denunciation for reward. A popular topic during another period of Germany's past. When the state starts rewarding criminals we are on a very slippery slope. Who gets to decide what is a worthy crime and what isn't?

It's amazing where "greed" and "money" is leading us and what the consequences are. We are losing our moral and ethical compass and our politicians are blowing the charge...

it is just plain wrong!

You would not buy a stolen mobile phone, would you?
so if the german government decides to show additional ancient artifacts in the museums, they can also trade with smugglers, right?

The ends never justify the means unless you are in a totalitarian State...

What kind of message does this send? If a pharma company (or any other) profitted from stolen information they would be strung up and left to rot. There are several codes of conduct related to obtaining and use of competitor data, of which using stolen or dodgily obtained data is clearly known to be wrong. To me this is the same situation.

Why should a government be allowed to break the rules?

(At least openly )

Yes, the slippery slope started here, morphed into the US debacle and now here they are again. I like the Germans but I wholeheartedly disagree with this tactic. Paying for stolen goods is just wrong.

I agree with you. But the idea that the modern, albeit democratic, state does not break the law is just nonsense. People in government break national laws all the time - so why should the same government officials make an exception for tax-evaders?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8491552.stm

Germany hope to net up to 100 million using a list of tax avoiders storing their money in Switzerland (allegedly).

It's lovely to see so much snow, but not everything over here is whiter than white.

I agree; things run according to different rules in practice...
At the same time, I consider myself lucky that I do not have to explain such a paradox to my daughter yet; she is luckily just 18months old
"-You can get away with speed-driving if you are rich!
-You can buy stolen goods if are authorized by the government
-etc etc"

in other words, bullies rule

But it's not the Swiss that are hiding their money is it? It's Germans that are hiding their money. Why make the Swiss responsible for the Germans not being able to keep their own people under control?

Because the banks do not unhappily tolerate the tax evasion, the local Swiss bankers facilitate it. In any other country it would be "aiding and abetting", but the Swiss government decided that there is a huge difference between tax evasion and tax fraud. If evasion is not a crime, the bankers are obviously no criminals.

As much as I like it here, these double standards **** me off.

How can a government buy stolen data without being criminals themselves?

You will know who you purchased the information from, they not only are aiding criminal activity, they are encouraging it!!

any person who works in a bank and goes against the privacy documentation that they signed should be shot - even if they have 10 starving kids at home and a husband who is a sickness beneficiary.
and, yes i know - you're not paid enough.

The criminals here are the German state that wastes so much money that it has to screw its citizens to the extent that they are made law-breakers by taking their hard-earned cash to a neighbouring country who manages their affairs more efficiently...

and the German government are dealing in stolen goods, that pisses me off more. For a government to say 'the law does not apply to us' disgusts me.

But the Swiss government agreed to comply with OSCE-standards relating to tax matters. So Switzerland will no longer distingish between tax evasion and tax fraud and will also provide judicial asistance when it comes to tax evasion. Actually Switzerland and Germany are right negotiating a new double tax treaty, so I don't see why Germany have to have recourse to such questionable methods.