The position of the Princely House on tax matters and international tax cooperation has long
been known. Many still recall the following quote of Reigning Prince Hans-Adam II: "I can
understand refugees from tax deserts, since they are in principle political refugees."
> Conclusion: Thanks to the clear content and verbal bluntness of his statement in the press
conference of 19 February 2008, Hereditary Prince Alois for once countered
the harsh language coming from Germany and subsequently enabled the
Government to appear moderate and to emphasize the otherwise good
bilateral relations between Germany and Liechtenstein.
6.5.6 Different publics in Liechtenstein and in Germany
For reasons of space and clarity, the actors on both the Liechtenstein and German sides will
be aggregated at a relatively high level of abstraction. Especially detailed and complex
particular interests will not be taken into account here. The paper assumes a set of shared
interests with which the various actors can be aggregated into larger collectives or publics,
without interfering with the result of this examination.
The following table again provides an illustrative overview of the various actors and publics
in Germany and Liechtenstein. Some of the actors within one of the five groups according to
Eichhorn have totally different interests, depending on the country and system of which they
are a part. They are therefore not homogeneous, as Eichhorn rightfully assumed within a
single society. The political actors are a particularly salient example. In other cases, the
interests within a group are more or less identical even across borders. A representative
example of this is: members of the public writing letters to the editor, or the bankers
associations in Switzerland, Germany and Liechtenstein which view investors themselves as
responsible for the "tax honesty" of the money they invest.
Actors in Liechtenstein Actors in Germany
Interest groups / Financial public
» Liechtenstein Bankers Association, LGT and LLB
» Liechtenstein Association of Professional Trustees
Interest groups / Financial public
» Tax authorities and finance offices
> Association of German Banks and individual banks
» German Taxpayers Association (with support by medium-sized
businesses)
> German Tax Union
> Public prosecutors' offices / courts
Mass media
> Nationwide print media in Germany
Mass media
> Nationwide print media in Germany
Active audience
> Legal academics, lawyers
> Writers of letters to the editor
Active audience
» Lawyers, academics
> Writers of letters to the editor
» Bavarian data protection commissioner, etc.
Passive audience
Passive audience
Political actors
» Princely House
» Government (Prime Minister/Minister of Finance, Deputy
Prime Minister/Minister of Justice and Economic Affairs)
> Opposition (Free List)
Political actors
> Government (Federal Chancellor, Federal Minister of Finance,
Federal Minister of the Interior, Federal Foreign Minister)
> BND
» Political parties (SPD, CDU, CSU, Greens)
Tab. 15: Different actors in Germany and Liechtenstein (Source: own illustration)
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