New Legal Provisions:

I. The situation in Austria
II. The TIEA with Liechtenstein, Jersey and Gibraltar
III. German Tax Evasion combating law

I. Austria has abolished its banking secrecy in the new Austrian mutual assistance law for tax matters (Amtshilfe-Durchführungsgesetz). In case you have untaxed money in Austria it is time to act. Austria delivers information for taxation purposes to your country of residence upon a low level of suspicion.

II. Latest Tax Information Exchange Agreements with Germeny-Jersey, Germany-Gibraltar, Germany-Liechtenstein according to the OECD-TIEA
Jersey, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein consented with Germany new TIEA in order to exchange taxation information. The banking secret which prohibited the information delivery to tax authorities is hereby destroyed. Furthermore the prerequisite of mutual punishability is abandoned. Therefore, from this day forwards information for tax evasion prosecution is delivered to Germany. The discontinuation of these two obstacles is  conforming with the OECD-TIEA model (tax information exchange agreement) and will be continued in all current tax information treaties. From now on, tax and tax evasion relevant information can be delivered for the tax years starting in 2010. In case of Jersey information can be delivered even for tax evasion purposes before 2010. All persons and cases are endangered to be prosecuted as soon as the authorities find any track of suspicion.
The information obtained by TIEA can be subjected to a stronger tax secret, than that tax secret of Art. 26 OECD double tax treaties. A tax secret shields information against the change of usage concerning new purposes. This stronger tax secret in the TIEA is inter alia generated by the adaption of the principle of a single case related mutual assistance, which comes from the mutual assistance in criminal matters into the TIEA. Whereas the mutual international assistance in tax matters permits more freely the change of purpose in using the obtained information.
Anyone concerned by information exchange should early take lagal claims and measurements into account in order to avoid the exchange and/ or minimize the scope of usability of exchanged information. You should insist on a limitation of the usability according to public international law by the source jurisdiction (tax haven). Today it is uncertain about what extent the authorities of the requested state will limit and grant conditions in the information use. According to public international law, they could. In case of untaxed assets, you should consider a self-indictment.
The OECD urges all states to agree in an information exchange according to the OECD standard. A state is listed as an uncooperative state as long as such a state (1.) hasn´t signed at least 12 TIEA with the OECD standard with OECD states, (2.) as long as the state hasn´t implemented the OECD standard into national law, and/ or (3.) as long as such a state refused further negotiations about tax information exchange.
In all the known tax havens and offshore centers investors are endangered by the TIEA. Evaluating the banking secrecy or a tax optimized location or state you have to regard the TIEA development. Anyone who wants to use a banking secrecy, which grants anonymity, within the options of a legal frame, has to look for new locations or states and/ or new business models. An expatriation, an interposition of another state, which does comply with the OECD standard, or the complete processing of the business in a new constellation in new states are remaining options.

III. Outline of german tax evasion combating law
1.The decuction of operating or advertising expenses can be denied in case of affairs with affiliated persons, if the affair is not promptly evidenced by recording.
2.In case of profit apportionment among domestic and foreign corporate branches, you are obliged to record promptly a documentation for the apportionment.
3. Concerning 1. and 2.: It applies as following: The above mentioned applies only for extraordinary deals in case of deals with states, which do exchange information according to the OECD standard.
The obligation to record promplty the deal does apply to all deals in case of a deal into states, which do not exchange information according to OECD standard. Promplty is within 30 days.
4. Affiliated persons are the following persons: (1.) The german taxpayer is directly or indirectly involved in a foreign (legal) person or (2.) a foreign person is directly or indirectly involved in the german taxpayer or (3.) a person  is involved in the german taxpayer and the foreign corporation  or (4.) if the affiliated person or the german taxpayer can impinge upon the commercial affair.
5. In case of deals with non affiliated persons the prompt recordings have to comprehend the following: Manner and scope of business, evidence of intangible assets, record of natural persons, which are dircetly or indirectly shareholder of the non affiliated persons. The finding of shareholders of a foreign partner might be very difficult (particularly in case of involved Limiteds, IBC, or Trusts in offshore states without a public visible list of shareholders). There is a bagatelle limit of 10.000 €.
6. In case of violation of the duty of documentation a tax exemption for income of investment sharing might be revoked. Additionally, the laws against double taxation are not applicable anymore. This could cause a double tax charge.
7. In case of objective recognizable indications for relations to financial institutions into uncooperative states (such without OECD information exchange standard)  the tax payer has to (1.) declare  the taxable income on oath and has to authorize the financial authority (german IRS) to claim in the taxpayers name for information abroad. Even the withhold taxation abroad doesn´t protect from the obligation to authorize the german IRS. In case of an unverified identity of a natural person, who holds directly or indirectly 10% or more shares of a foreign company, the deductibility of german dividend tax shall be denied. A certificate of residence could be required.
In case of refusal of the declaration on oath the reduced tax rate and the convenient "partly income procedure" (Teileinkünfteverfahren) are endangered to be refused. Additionally, a tax audit could take place. Additionally, a compulsory tax estimation will probably take place, which usually results in a too expensive tax bill.
8. Persons with an income over 500.000 € have to store the tax documents for six years and can be audited.
9. The law applies for tax years starting 2010.
10.Many details like the list of uncooperative states and the objective recognizable indications for foreign affairs aren´t precisely defined. Anyone refusing to obey the duties has to take into account the audit and the excessive tax estimation. The scope of the duties should be discussed with an attorney or tax expert. Foreign affairs are discriminated and criminalized. There are doubts in the conformity of the german tax evasion combating law with constitutional, european and international law. Germany constitutes a general suspicion concerning everyone maintaining commercial relations abroad. Due process, rule of law and proportionality are disregarded.
11. From 2010 german taxpayers can be liable to prosecution by non-declaration of holded shares of a limited, even if such a Ltd doesn´t have revenue. This concerns incorporations which do solely possess a yacht, real estate property or any other non-generating revenue assest.
12. Conclusion:  Any in Germany declarable person keeping business affairs from Germany to offshore states will not longer be able to legally use anonymity. If a review with a tax lawyer finds heretofore forgotten and undeclared income and the commercial connection has to be displayed from now on, you have to consider a self-indictment. If you cannot go back into legality or you wish for non-taxation reasons to maintain and use an anonymous business connection you have to dismiss your relations to Germany: Expatriation,  by an interposition of a branch in another state, which does comply with OECD information exchange standard and/ or by establishing business relation in states which are still nowadays real tax havens or offshore places. There are remaining legal and legitimate Options. The prerequisites and the limitations can be examined only in every perticular case. Life insurances do only partly resolve taxation and prosecution risks.