On 21 December the German government adopted a bill to combat tax avoidance and to change certain other tax provisions. The Government’s main intention is to make it more difficult for German taxpayers to avoid tax by using letter-box companies. In addition to numerous provisions imposing obligations on the taxpayer to co-operate with the tax authorities, the bill abolishes the bank secrecy rules.
In its sitting on 2 June 2017 the Bundesrat (the Upper House) approved the legislation which the government introduced at the end of last year following the publication of the Panama Papers.
