“To effectively combat cross-border tax evasion”: Bundestag opens crypto tax reporting to non-EU states

The Bundestag decided on October 8, 2026 that German tax authorities may in future exchange data on crypto transactions with countries outside the European Union as well. What passed is a treaty act on an international agreement from 2023 that implements the crypto-asset reporting framework. If you hold coins at an exchange in Singapore, the Cayman Islands or Switzerland, that account no longer sits beyond the reach of the German tax office, as soon as the partner state delivers in return.

This piece sets the vote in context: what exactly gets reported, from when, which countries take part, and where the figures in press coverage diverge. The tax liability itself does not change. What changes is the likelihood that the tax office can cross-check a figure.

What the Bundestag decided on October 8

Parliament adopted the government bill in the version agreed in committee. The full title is the “Act on the Multilateral Agreement of 8 June 2023 between the Competent Authorities on the Automatic Exchange of Information pursuant to the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework”. It is on file as Bundestag printed paper 21/7195, the finance committee’s recommendation as printed paper 21/8425.

The majority was br...