Tax Amnesty Raises Money for Germany

A tax amnesty introduced in 2003 to encourage wealthy citizens to declare income held abroad has brought an additional €903 million ($1.19 billion) into German coffers, according to a survey conducted by the Financial Times Deutschland. Previously, tax assessors had estimated that €800 million would be gained from the tax amnesty. Finance Minister Hans Eichel had initially hoped for an increase of €5 billion in tax payments, but has since reduced that amount to €1 billion. Through the tax amnesty Germans can repatriate their foreign income without fear of legal consequences. Income was taxed at a rate of 25 percent in 2004.