Britain's finance minister said last week the government could cut taxes to stay competitive as international banks weigh moving some of their London operations to the continent out of fear Britain would lose access to the European Union's single market as a result of Brexit.
But Schaeuble said that any attempt to retain or attract companies with low taxes would not be tolerated.
"You can’t compare Great Britain with the Cayman Islands," Schaeuble said at an event in Wiesbaden, Germany. "If a big country thinks it could have the benefits of a small country...this will go awry.
"This will not be tolerated by the rest of the world," he said. "That's why we have cooperation."
The Dutch head of the council of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem had also said earlier this week Britain would be taking a "crazy step backwards" if it opted to turn itself into a tax haven.
(Additional reporting by Frank Siebelt; Editing by Toby Chopra)
By Francesco Canepa
