Hamburg Grüne stimmen für Gespräche mit der CDU - Deutschland - sueddeutsche.de
Hamburgs Grüne haben den Weg für Sondierungsgespräche über eine erste schwarz-grüne Koalition auf Landesebene freigemacht. Die Grünen-Basis entschied mit überwältigender Mehrheit, das Gesprächsangebot der CDU anzunehmen.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
FT.com / World - Germany to ‘tighten screws’ on tax havens
FT.com / World - Germany to ‘tighten screws’ on tax havens
Germany to ‘tighten screws’ on tax havens
By Bertrand Benoit and Hugh Williamson in Berlin
Published: February 22 2008 21:30 | Last updated: February 22 2008 21:30
Germany plans to “tighten the screws” on Europe’s tax havens, the country’s finance minister vowed on Friday amid a growing global government backlash against financial centres with bank secrecy rules that foster tax evasion.
The warning from Peer Steinbrück marks another escalation of the tensions with Liechtenstein that have flared over a mammoth tax investigation into bank accounts of Germans held at the principality.
Mr Steinbrück said Berlin was considering bilateral measures against Liechtenstein, such as levies on wire transfers to the principality or an obligation for German banks to declare such transfers.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, also signalled she would press Monaco to increase co-operation with tax authorities in other countries when meeting Prince Albert, the principality’s ruler, on Wednesday.
Ms Merkel’s diplomatic push comes as a tax investigation of at least 750 suspected tax evaders enters its second week. The probe sprang from documents about German accounts at Liechtenstein’s LGT bank, which the BND intelligence agency bought for €4.2m ($6.2m) in 2006.
Other countries including the US, Finland and Sweden have opened, or are considering opening, investigations.
Ms Merkel, who met Otmar Hasler, prime minister of Liechtenstein, in Berlin this week, will discuss tax evasion next month with president Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which has long pushed for Monaco to open up.
Thomas Steg, spokesman for Ms Merkel, said the chancellor would speak “clear words” and tell the Monegasque monarch to adopt “fair behaviour”.
A spokesman for Mr Steinbrück said Germany was using “constructive dialogue” with Liechtenstein and other tax havens. However, if this did not work then “more unusual, bilateral steps” would be necessary, he added.
He said these steps would not occur before June at the earliest after a meeting on international tax issues at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which co-ordinates global efforts to reduce tax-haven secrecy. Bilateral steps may be delayed until after the US elections in November, as Washington has played an important role in the OECD action against tax havens, he said.
Berlin has Liechtenstein, Monaco and Andorra in its sights, three countries classified as “unco-operative” by the OECD because they refuse to disclose the bank data of suspected tax evaders to foreign law-enforcement authorities.
Additional reporting by Gerrit Wiesmann in Vaduz and Frances Williams in Geneva
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Germany to ‘tighten screws’ on tax havens
By Bertrand Benoit and Hugh Williamson in Berlin
Published: February 22 2008 21:30 | Last updated: February 22 2008 21:30
Germany plans to “tighten the screws” on Europe’s tax havens, the country’s finance minister vowed on Friday amid a growing global government backlash against financial centres with bank secrecy rules that foster tax evasion.
The warning from Peer Steinbrück marks another escalation of the tensions with Liechtenstein that have flared over a mammoth tax investigation into bank accounts of Germans held at the principality.
Mr Steinbrück said Berlin was considering bilateral measures against Liechtenstein, such as levies on wire transfers to the principality or an obligation for German banks to declare such transfers.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, also signalled she would press Monaco to increase co-operation with tax authorities in other countries when meeting Prince Albert, the principality’s ruler, on Wednesday.
Ms Merkel’s diplomatic push comes as a tax investigation of at least 750 suspected tax evaders enters its second week. The probe sprang from documents about German accounts at Liechtenstein’s LGT bank, which the BND intelligence agency bought for €4.2m ($6.2m) in 2006.
Other countries including the US, Finland and Sweden have opened, or are considering opening, investigations.
Ms Merkel, who met Otmar Hasler, prime minister of Liechtenstein, in Berlin this week, will discuss tax evasion next month with president Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which has long pushed for Monaco to open up.
Thomas Steg, spokesman for Ms Merkel, said the chancellor would speak “clear words” and tell the Monegasque monarch to adopt “fair behaviour”.
A spokesman for Mr Steinbrück said Germany was using “constructive dialogue” with Liechtenstein and other tax havens. However, if this did not work then “more unusual, bilateral steps” would be necessary, he added.
He said these steps would not occur before June at the earliest after a meeting on international tax issues at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which co-ordinates global efforts to reduce tax-haven secrecy. Bilateral steps may be delayed until after the US elections in November, as Washington has played an important role in the OECD action against tax havens, he said.
Berlin has Liechtenstein, Monaco and Andorra in its sights, three countries classified as “unco-operative” by the OECD because they refuse to disclose the bank data of suspected tax evaders to foreign law-enforcement authorities.
Additional reporting by Gerrit Wiesmann in Vaduz and Frances Williams in Geneva
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
German tax scandals | The disgrace of Germany AG | Economist.com
German tax scandals | The disgrace of Germany AG | Economist.com
Feb 21st 2008 | BERLIN
From The Economist print edition
The country's tax scandal is a test of its judicial, not its economic, system
THE word Schadenfreude was coined for just such occasions. On February 14th, in full view of the television cameras, police escorted Klaus Zumwinkel, boss of logistics giant Deutsche Post, from his villa in Cologne to explain to prosecutors his dealings with Liechtenstein, a notorious tax haven. By itself the disgracing of Mr Zumwinkel, who quit Deutsche Post and the chairmanship of Deutsche Telekom the following day, would have been big news. But he is just one of around 1,000 suspects in Germany's biggest-ever tax-fraud case; his alleged million-euro tax dodge is a fraction of hundreds of millions that may have flowed to the Alpine principality rather than into Germany's treasury. In the following days investigators fanned out, searching homes and offices in Munich, Frankfurt and elsewhere, this time without television cameras in tow. In the dock of public opinion are not just a few fat cats but the rich in general.
Germany was already in the throes of an argument about pay, equality and whether capitalism is fair. Globalisation and economic reforms have squeezed the wages of ordinary Germans. Yet the pay of Germany's top managers jumped 17.5% in the 2006-07 financial year, according to Kienbaum, a headhunter. The same class has lately been held responsible for expense-account sex (Volkswagen), systematic bribery (Siemens) and subprime self-abuse (IKB and the state banks of Saxony and Bavaria). Trust in the social-market economy—Germany's mix of capitalism, welfare and workers' rights—is endangered by “a not inconsiderable section of the economic elite”, frets the conservative interior minister, Wolfgang Schäuble. The left, especially the ex-communist Left Party, hopes to benefit from all this, starting with elections in the city-state of Hamburg on February 24th.
But Mr Zumwinkel's downfall does not fit tidily into a fable about the cruelties of capitalism. True, he managed Deutsche Post's privatisation. But the “yellow eminence” (an epithet drawn from the colour of the Post's logo) was a practitioner of socially conscious “Rhineland capitalism” rather than the supposedly heartless American variety that is gaining dominance through the growing clout of the capital markets. His final achievement combined social correctness with self-enrichment. Last year Mr Zumwinkel helped introduce a minimum wage to the postal sector, which had the intended side-effect of discouraging competitors poised to exploit the ending of Deutsche Post's monopoly over letter delivery on January 1st 2008. Mr Zumwinkel cashed in on the resulting rally in Deutsche Post's shares: a mistake, he later admitted. The second named victim of the tax sweep is a public official, Bavaria's data-protection chief. Yet despite the scandals, trust in the market economy has recovered from the low it reached in 2005, according to Allensbach, a polling firm, probably because growth and employment have been strong.
The Liechtenstein affair is more a test of the judicial system than the economic one. The spectacle of tax inspectors pursuing Germany's richest citizens may bolster faith in the rule of law but is the outcome of a bizarre process. Early in 2006 a person known to the German press as “the informant” offered to sell to Germany's foreign intelligence service a DVD stolen from LGT Group, a firm owned by Liechtenstein's ruling dynasty. It tells investigators everything they need to know about hundreds of Germans who established “foundations” in Liechtenstein to manage their money without disclosing their identities. After tax collectors sampled the merchandise, the intelligence agency paid €4.2m for it, a spectacular bargain.
A committee of the Bundestag is examining whether the agency overstepped its authority in joining the hunt for domestic tax cheats. Liechtenstein's crown prince and Mr Zumwinkel's lawyer have both accused the German government of dealing in “fenced goods”. The courts will decide whether that undermines the case. It is not clear how many suspects will face trial. Frightened by Mr Zumwinkel's example, many are turning themselves in.
The tax blitz is “a healthy shock”, says Dieter Ondracek of the German Tax Union, but it will wear off. More inspectors would raise the fear of discovery, a better deterrent than stiffening penalties, Mr Ondracek thinks. The finance ministry wants to federalise tax collection, which is now split among the 16 Länder (states), some of which tame tax inspectors in order to attract investment. The chancellor, Angela Merkel, demanded that Liechtenstein adhere to international standards for fighting tax evasion and money laundering during a visit by its prime minister, Otmar Hasler, on February 20th. Even if the principality yields, competitors will step in. One candidate: the emirate of Dubai.
Feb 21st 2008 | BERLIN
From The Economist print edition
The country's tax scandal is a test of its judicial, not its economic, system
THE word Schadenfreude was coined for just such occasions. On February 14th, in full view of the television cameras, police escorted Klaus Zumwinkel, boss of logistics giant Deutsche Post, from his villa in Cologne to explain to prosecutors his dealings with Liechtenstein, a notorious tax haven. By itself the disgracing of Mr Zumwinkel, who quit Deutsche Post and the chairmanship of Deutsche Telekom the following day, would have been big news. But he is just one of around 1,000 suspects in Germany's biggest-ever tax-fraud case; his alleged million-euro tax dodge is a fraction of hundreds of millions that may have flowed to the Alpine principality rather than into Germany's treasury. In the following days investigators fanned out, searching homes and offices in Munich, Frankfurt and elsewhere, this time without television cameras in tow. In the dock of public opinion are not just a few fat cats but the rich in general.
Germany was already in the throes of an argument about pay, equality and whether capitalism is fair. Globalisation and economic reforms have squeezed the wages of ordinary Germans. Yet the pay of Germany's top managers jumped 17.5% in the 2006-07 financial year, according to Kienbaum, a headhunter. The same class has lately been held responsible for expense-account sex (Volkswagen), systematic bribery (Siemens) and subprime self-abuse (IKB and the state banks of Saxony and Bavaria). Trust in the social-market economy—Germany's mix of capitalism, welfare and workers' rights—is endangered by “a not inconsiderable section of the economic elite”, frets the conservative interior minister, Wolfgang Schäuble. The left, especially the ex-communist Left Party, hopes to benefit from all this, starting with elections in the city-state of Hamburg on February 24th.
But Mr Zumwinkel's downfall does not fit tidily into a fable about the cruelties of capitalism. True, he managed Deutsche Post's privatisation. But the “yellow eminence” (an epithet drawn from the colour of the Post's logo) was a practitioner of socially conscious “Rhineland capitalism” rather than the supposedly heartless American variety that is gaining dominance through the growing clout of the capital markets. His final achievement combined social correctness with self-enrichment. Last year Mr Zumwinkel helped introduce a minimum wage to the postal sector, which had the intended side-effect of discouraging competitors poised to exploit the ending of Deutsche Post's monopoly over letter delivery on January 1st 2008. Mr Zumwinkel cashed in on the resulting rally in Deutsche Post's shares: a mistake, he later admitted. The second named victim of the tax sweep is a public official, Bavaria's data-protection chief. Yet despite the scandals, trust in the market economy has recovered from the low it reached in 2005, according to Allensbach, a polling firm, probably because growth and employment have been strong.
The Liechtenstein affair is more a test of the judicial system than the economic one. The spectacle of tax inspectors pursuing Germany's richest citizens may bolster faith in the rule of law but is the outcome of a bizarre process. Early in 2006 a person known to the German press as “the informant” offered to sell to Germany's foreign intelligence service a DVD stolen from LGT Group, a firm owned by Liechtenstein's ruling dynasty. It tells investigators everything they need to know about hundreds of Germans who established “foundations” in Liechtenstein to manage their money without disclosing their identities. After tax collectors sampled the merchandise, the intelligence agency paid €4.2m for it, a spectacular bargain.
A committee of the Bundestag is examining whether the agency overstepped its authority in joining the hunt for domestic tax cheats. Liechtenstein's crown prince and Mr Zumwinkel's lawyer have both accused the German government of dealing in “fenced goods”. The courts will decide whether that undermines the case. It is not clear how many suspects will face trial. Frightened by Mr Zumwinkel's example, many are turning themselves in.
The tax blitz is “a healthy shock”, says Dieter Ondracek of the German Tax Union, but it will wear off. More inspectors would raise the fear of discovery, a better deterrent than stiffening penalties, Mr Ondracek thinks. The finance ministry wants to federalise tax collection, which is now split among the 16 Länder (states), some of which tame tax inspectors in order to attract investment. The chancellor, Angela Merkel, demanded that Liechtenstein adhere to international standards for fighting tax evasion and money laundering during a visit by its prime minister, Otmar Hasler, on February 20th. Even if the principality yields, competitors will step in. One candidate: the emirate of Dubai.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
FT.com / Companies / Consumer industries - TNT in threat to quit Germany
FT.com / Companies / Consumer industries - TNT in threat to quit Germany
TNT in threat to quit Germany
By Michael Steen in Amsterdam
Published: February 18 2008 19:32 | Last updated: February 18 2008 19:32
TNT said it could be forced to consider closing its German mail operations if it loses a court challenge to gain exemption from the German minimum wage for postal workers. But the Dutch post and courier group said it remained hopeful of success next month.
Germany introduced the €9.80 minimum wage for postal workers in December, before opening up the postal market to competition. But TNT and other groups planning to compete against Deutsche Post complained the rate was set deliberately high to prevent any serious challenge to the former monopoly.
“If we’re forced to pay €9.80, that puts great pressure on the business case and we’ll have to decide what the most sensible route is,” Peter Bakker, TNT chief executive, said as the group published fourth-quarter results.
He said he could not rule out withdrawing from Germany if the wage was imposed. Another Deutsche Post competitor, Pin Group, has already started laying off its staff.
TNT employs 14,000 workers in its loss-making German operation, which generated €233m ($341m) in revenues last year.
The company says it can stomach start-up losses if it pays employees €7.50 an hour, as it has agreed with its own German union.
TNT plans to argue in a Berlin court in March that the minimum wage law stifles competition. Mr Bakker said the investigation into alleged tax evasion by Deutsche Post’s former chief executive, Klaus Zumwinkel – seen as an architect of the minimum wage plan – did not materially affect the case.
“If it was just a deal between Zumwinkel and the unions, you could probably have some hope,” he said. “But it’s not. Zumwinkel made the deal and then the cabinet said yes, and parliament said yes and now it’s law...So far, everything has gone against us in Germany.”
The Dutch government retaliated against the German minimum wage legislation by putting on hold the full liberalisation of the Dutch postal market, where TNT’s monopoly on mail under 50g had been due to end in January.
TNT said its fourth-quarter net profit dropped to €148m from €189m a year ago after a €110m charge for restructuring its shrinking domestic postal business. Its shares closed up 0.8 per cent at €27.48.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
TNT in threat to quit Germany
By Michael Steen in Amsterdam
Published: February 18 2008 19:32 | Last updated: February 18 2008 19:32
TNT said it could be forced to consider closing its German mail operations if it loses a court challenge to gain exemption from the German minimum wage for postal workers. But the Dutch post and courier group said it remained hopeful of success next month.
Germany introduced the €9.80 minimum wage for postal workers in December, before opening up the postal market to competition. But TNT and other groups planning to compete against Deutsche Post complained the rate was set deliberately high to prevent any serious challenge to the former monopoly.
“If we’re forced to pay €9.80, that puts great pressure on the business case and we’ll have to decide what the most sensible route is,” Peter Bakker, TNT chief executive, said as the group published fourth-quarter results.
He said he could not rule out withdrawing from Germany if the wage was imposed. Another Deutsche Post competitor, Pin Group, has already started laying off its staff.
TNT employs 14,000 workers in its loss-making German operation, which generated €233m ($341m) in revenues last year.
The company says it can stomach start-up losses if it pays employees €7.50 an hour, as it has agreed with its own German union.
TNT plans to argue in a Berlin court in March that the minimum wage law stifles competition. Mr Bakker said the investigation into alleged tax evasion by Deutsche Post’s former chief executive, Klaus Zumwinkel – seen as an architect of the minimum wage plan – did not materially affect the case.
“If it was just a deal between Zumwinkel and the unions, you could probably have some hope,” he said. “But it’s not. Zumwinkel made the deal and then the cabinet said yes, and parliament said yes and now it’s law...So far, everything has gone against us in Germany.”
The Dutch government retaliated against the German minimum wage legislation by putting on hold the full liberalisation of the Dutch postal market, where TNT’s monopoly on mail under 50g had been due to end in January.
TNT said its fourth-quarter net profit dropped to €148m from €189m a year ago after a €110m charge for restructuring its shrinking domestic postal business. Its shares closed up 0.8 per cent at €27.48.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
FT.com / Home UK / UK - Zumwinkel resigns amid tax probe
FT.com / Home UK / UK - Zumwinkel resigns amid tax probe
Zumwinkel resigns amid tax probe
By Gerrit Wiesmann and Richard Milne in Frankfurt and,Hugh Williamson in Berlin
Published: February 16 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 16 2008 02:00
What looks set to become Germany's biggest-ever tax-evasion scandal claimed its first victim yesterday as Klaus Zumwinkel, a veteran of Germany's corporate elite, resigned as chief executive of Deutsche Post and chairman of Deutsche Telekom.
Alongside Mr Zumwinkel, people close to the investigation said state prosecutors had about 750 residents in their sights on suspicion of holding undeclared trusts in Liechtenstein, robbing the German exchequer of hundreds of millions of euros.
Prosecutors on Thursday said Mr Zumwinkel was being investigated on allegations he failed to pay taxes totalling €1m ($1.5m) on money he placed in a Liechtenstein trust. People close to events said it contained assets of €10m and that the tax liabilities could yet rise.
In a statement, the Bochum state prosecutors office simply said documents passed on to it from tax authorities provided "serious evidence" of tax fraud - mostly using trusts in Liechtenstein - by "several hundred" people living all over Germany.
People close to the investigation told the Financial Times: "We are sitting on a mountain of names, including several of international prominence akin to Mr Zumwinkel", although nothing currently points to heads of other blue-chip companies being involved.
The allegations led to outrage from politicians, who fear that the scandal will increase public dissatisfaction with the business establishment in the midst of a banking crisis, job transfers abroad and ire over executive pay levels.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the scandal triggered by Mr Zumwinkel was "difficult and depressing" and that his resignation was "unavoidable". The scale of his alleged tax evasion was "beyond my imagination and beyond that of many people".
The coalition of conservative Christian Democrats and left-leaning Social Democrats must quickly find new top executives for the former postal and telecoms monopolies, in which Berlin still holds just over 30 per cent a piece.
Frank Appel, Deutsche Post logistics director, is seen as favourite to become chief executive. The leading candidate for Telekom chairman, Linde chief executive Wolfgang Reitzle, was reluctant to take the job, an official said yesterday.
Officials said Ms Merkel is likely to use a previously scheduled meeting in Berlin on Wednesday with Otmar Hasler, Liechtenstein's prime minister, to call on the tiny principality to ease its tight bank secrecy rules.
Peer Steinbrück, finance minister, told N24 TV that Mr Zumwinkel had admitted to tax evasion when questioned on Thursday. Mr Zumwinkel's legal and media advisers declined to comment.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Zumwinkel resigns amid tax probe
By Gerrit Wiesmann and Richard Milne in Frankfurt and,Hugh Williamson in Berlin
Published: February 16 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 16 2008 02:00
What looks set to become Germany's biggest-ever tax-evasion scandal claimed its first victim yesterday as Klaus Zumwinkel, a veteran of Germany's corporate elite, resigned as chief executive of Deutsche Post and chairman of Deutsche Telekom.
Alongside Mr Zumwinkel, people close to the investigation said state prosecutors had about 750 residents in their sights on suspicion of holding undeclared trusts in Liechtenstein, robbing the German exchequer of hundreds of millions of euros.
Prosecutors on Thursday said Mr Zumwinkel was being investigated on allegations he failed to pay taxes totalling €1m ($1.5m) on money he placed in a Liechtenstein trust. People close to events said it contained assets of €10m and that the tax liabilities could yet rise.
In a statement, the Bochum state prosecutors office simply said documents passed on to it from tax authorities provided "serious evidence" of tax fraud - mostly using trusts in Liechtenstein - by "several hundred" people living all over Germany.
People close to the investigation told the Financial Times: "We are sitting on a mountain of names, including several of international prominence akin to Mr Zumwinkel", although nothing currently points to heads of other blue-chip companies being involved.
The allegations led to outrage from politicians, who fear that the scandal will increase public dissatisfaction with the business establishment in the midst of a banking crisis, job transfers abroad and ire over executive pay levels.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the scandal triggered by Mr Zumwinkel was "difficult and depressing" and that his resignation was "unavoidable". The scale of his alleged tax evasion was "beyond my imagination and beyond that of many people".
The coalition of conservative Christian Democrats and left-leaning Social Democrats must quickly find new top executives for the former postal and telecoms monopolies, in which Berlin still holds just over 30 per cent a piece.
Frank Appel, Deutsche Post logistics director, is seen as favourite to become chief executive. The leading candidate for Telekom chairman, Linde chief executive Wolfgang Reitzle, was reluctant to take the job, an official said yesterday.
Officials said Ms Merkel is likely to use a previously scheduled meeting in Berlin on Wednesday with Otmar Hasler, Liechtenstein's prime minister, to call on the tiny principality to ease its tight bank secrecy rules.
Peer Steinbrück, finance minister, told N24 TV that Mr Zumwinkel had admitted to tax evasion when questioned on Thursday. Mr Zumwinkel's legal and media advisers declined to comment.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
''Wir sind Helden''-Sängerin Judith Holofernes Konsumkritische Werbeikone - Leben & Stil - sueddeutsche.de
''Wir sind Helden''-Sängerin Judith Holofernes Konsumkritische Werbeikone - Leben & Stil - sueddeutsche.de
Die Frontfrau von "Wir sind Helden" kann man sich in vielen Rollen gut vorstellen. Nicht aber als Werbefigur für einen Sportwagenhersteller.
Die Frontfrau von "Wir sind Helden" kann man sich in vielen Rollen gut vorstellen. Nicht aber als Werbefigur für einen Sportwagenhersteller.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Deutsche Bank Ein ''Spitzenjahr'' für Ackermann - Finanzen - sueddeutsche.de
Deutsche Bank Ein ''Spitzenjahr'' für Ackermann - Finanzen - sueddeutsche.de
Der Finanzkrise ordentlich getrotzt: Die Deutsche Bank hat 2007 einen Rekordgewinn eingefahren, auch wenn das Investmentbanking hakt. Weil der befürchtete Abschreibungsschock ausblieb, sollen nun auch die Aktionäre profitieren.
Der Finanzkrise ordentlich getrotzt: Die Deutsche Bank hat 2007 einen Rekordgewinn eingefahren, auch wenn das Investmentbanking hakt. Weil der befürchtete Abschreibungsschock ausblieb, sollen nun auch die Aktionäre profitieren.
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