Relationship dossier
Germany
Liechtenstein
Relationship assessment
Tax cooperation alongside a major dispute over banking secrecy and tax-evasion investigations
Germany toward Liechtenstein
+20Germany concluded tax-information arrangements with Liechtenstein, including a tax information exchange agreement. German tax investigations using Liechtenstein banking data, however, caused a serious bilateral dispute, and Germany’s parliament rejected a proposed tax agreement in 2012.
Liechtenstein toward Germany
+20Liechtenstein concluded tax-information arrangements with Germany, including a tax information exchange agreement, and negotiated a proposed tax agreement. The 2008 German use of Liechtenstein banking data for tax investigations became a major point of friction.
Overall relationship
+20The bilateral relationship includes practical tax cooperation and negotiated agreements, but has also been marked by a serious dispute over financial secrecy and German tax investigations. Those features support a mixed but generally cooperative assessment.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Germany and Liechtenstein have pursued practical cooperation on tax matters, including agreements on tax information exchange and double taxation. Relations were also strained by Germany’s 2008 purchase of Liechtenstein banking data for tax investigations, and a proposed tax agreement was rejected by Germany’s parliament in 2012. The relationship combines concrete cooperation with a significant period of disagreement over tax evasion and financial secrecy.
Areas of tension
- German tax investigations using Liechtenstein banking data and the resulting dispute over financial secrecy
- Germany’s rejection in 2012 of a proposed tax agreement with Liechtenstein
Key developments
Germany and Liechtenstein concluded a tax information exchange agreement.
Germany’s use of Liechtenstein banking data for tax investigations triggered a bilateral dispute.
Germany’s parliament rejected a proposed tax agreement with Liechtenstein.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of subsequent tax-information cooperation are unclear.
- The extent of current bilateral cooperation beyond tax matters is unclear.