Data exchange on foreign accounts is constitutional

The automatic exchange of financial account information does not violate the fundamental rights of the taxpayers concerned.

The Federal Central Tax Office now regularly receives information from other countries about the bank accounts held there by German citizens. It stores this data and forwards it to the relevant tax authorities as required. This automatic exchange of information on foreign financial accounts does not violate the right to informational self-determination of the taxpayers concerned.

With this decision, the Federal Fiscal Court dismissed the complaint of several taxpayers who have accounts in Switzerland and had taken legal action against the transfer of the account balances of their Swiss bank accounts to the Federal Central Tax Office. Although the processing and storage represents an encroachment on informational self-determination, the Federal Fiscal Court is convinced that this is justified.