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.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Liechtenstein Tax Affair
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