With today‘s worldwide <B>mobility</B> and the great number of ways to access information quickly, the world has become considerably "smaller", and local and foreign authorities and organizations have more and more means to access the privacy of any individual or corporation.

Liechtenstein foundations are a very well-known family planning instrument as they can easily be set up and maintained. However in the international tax and civil law field, especially where the assets are not only located in Liechtenstein, some additional concern should be given by the founders and/or beneficiaries.

As many Swiss banks and lawyers might look to Liechtenstein when setting up trusts for their clients, it is a good opportunity to deal again shortly with the Liechtenstein trust concept and later on with the legal provisions in Switzerland for ratifying the Hague Trust Convention which is beneficial to the trust business.

It is proposed to implement a total revision of Liechtenstein’s tax law. The aim is to modernise the present legal order with regard to taxation, to take account of international developments.

On 26 June 2008 the Liechtenstein Parliament passed the new foundation law. The new Foundation Act (hereafter referred to as the StiG), together with the amendments to the Law on Persons and Companies (PGR), was published on 26 August 2008 in the Liechtenstein Law Gazette No. 220/2008.