As the Federal Ministry of Finance announced on 29.09.2017 with a press release, the first automatic exchange of information on financial accounts at multilateral level will start on 30 September 2018. In addition to Germany, initially 49 states and territories join the common reporting standard CRS (Common Reporting Standard) of the OECD. Other participating States are expected to follow on 30 September 2018. The purpose of the automatic exchange of information is to combat the international fight against tax evasion and to prevent funds from being transferred to other continents within a very short time, away from the knowledge of the tax authorities. The starting point for the cooperation is a multilateral agreement signed by 51 states at the Berlin Tax Conference in October 2014. Meanwhile, over 100 states and territories have ratified the agreement.