Ne
ws

The Federal Ministry of Finance has published the list of countries participating in the automatic exchange of information on financial accounts under the Financial Accounts Information Exchange Act.

As of July 30, 2024, Aruba, Georgia, Kenya, and Thailand will report data for the year 2023 to the Federal Central Tax Office for the first time.

Due to the comparison of the transmitted data, there is a risk for taxpayers in Germany that previously undeclared income from foreign accounts may be discovered. Therefore, anyone who is subject to unlimited tax liability in Germany and has failed to provide information on bank accounts in Aruba, Georgia, Kenya, or Thailand still has the option—provided there is no legal basis for exclusion—to submit a voluntary disclosure that may grant immunity from prosecution.

The complete list of countries participating in the exchange of financial account information is available here: https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/BMF_Schreiben/Internationales_Steuerrecht/Allgemeine_Informationen/2024-06-13-finale-staatenaustauschliste-2024.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=5

For questions regarding voluntary self-disclosure to avoid prosecution, please contact us.