The German government approved plans today for an amnesty for tax offenders in a bid to repatriate billions of euros invested abroad.
Investors can avoid fines and prosecution by paying a 25 per cent tax on past interest earned from funds they bring back to Germany between January 1st and end-December 2004, the finance ministry said in a statement.
They face a higher tax rate of 35 per cent if they repatriate investments between January 1st and March 31st, 2005.
A government source said the amnesty scheme was likely to yield about €5 billion in additional revenue, in line with previous estimates.
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Estimates of the amount of funds held abroad by Germans, much of it parked in Switzerland and Luxembourg, vary from €300 billion to €960 billion.