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. . Germany - the taxman cometh

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    German Corruption, persecution and refusal to adhere to diplomatic rules

    This is also my attempt, like many others here to shed some light on the way the Germans work and maybe give a little advice. However I also still need advice myself and welcome direct contact with anybody who also feels they have been persecuted by the Germans.

    I am preparing an open letter to the Foreign office, although I am not sure if it is really in their department, requesting that the dual tax agreement with Germany is reviewed based on the fact that, in my case certainly, the German authorities are avoiding using its rulings. In fact it is a complete waste of time.

    I will be posting much more information in the near future and am also preparing a social media campaign and will be publishing a new web-site detailing all the corruption and bullying I have encountered.

    Basically my story is:

    - Lived in Germany
    - founded a limited company in 1983
    - I am the dBase Distributor for most of northern Europe and this was registered (Gewerbeanmeldung) and correctly taxed in Germany up through 2012.
    - The British Ltd. company was used for my contract and software side of the business.
    - Was prosecuted in 2001 on the grounds the company had been set up only as a tax avoidance scheme and second that my payments from the company were not being correctly declared in Germany. The claim of a scam company was dismissed within minutes and the other subject was dismissed after 2 days.
    - House was searched in 2012 ion the grounds that no returns had been made either in UK or Germany. This was almost immediately revised to say we had not paid tax but made no returns in Germany. Again claiming that the Ltd. was an entirely german corporation.
    - Our complaint that the case about the company status had already been settled in 2001 was refuted and they Finanzamt claimed that there were no case files any more.
    - A call to the Court revealed that only a few weeks before the case files had been destroyed because this is the case in Germany if you win. I could no longer find my copy of the court files. I hadn’t realised that they had been confiscated along with 90 other folders and binders when the house was searched.
    - Long story short the Finanzamt just ignored every attempt to get them to trade information with HMRC concerning the status of the Ltd. Company. Their evidence that the company had allegedly made no returns showing significant income were derived from some in-official web-site system called “Dellam” who sell of company info that is available from Companies house anyway.
    - After 4 years I was told by my German lawyer that there was no chance of winning and that the court / judge had told him that only a complete confession would save me from prison without a suspended sentence. So put bluntly “coercion pure”. In fact at this stage we had not even put in our plea. All the court had was the state attorneys / Finanzamt version of the story.
    - So being stupid I gave in and was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months suspended.
    - But now the curious part: The judge at first stated it would no longer be necessary to interview witnesses but suddenly changed her mind and requested that the head of the Bayreuth Finanzamt investigation department come forward for questioning. She only had one question and it would seem to me now that she knew what was coming. She repeatedly asked where the information in the case file had come from. The man (Michael Franz) tried several times to avoid answering. But she was relentless and at last the answer came:
    - We got the information from “google”
    - Even though I have been sentenced I had applied to the State prosecutors in Berlin (I had been warned to avoid anywhere near the Bayreuth are) for prosecution on the grounds that Michael Franz had conjured up evidence.
    - At the time of writing he is being investigated for Fraud.

    Added to all this is the problem, that even though I have now left Germany, losing my family, the Finanzamt are constantly harassing me with new demands as though I am still there. As it happens I stopped doing any work in Germany immediately after the search. I still officially lived there until 2014 but any sales were made by a business set up by my wife. This on the advice of German tax consultants.

    The reason for this harassment is clear and I hope serves as a warning to others who may end up in the same predicament.

    The German authorities are trying to recover personal income tax resulting from the company’s profits they claim we owe them via MARD.

    As yet they have not attempted to recover the corporation tax or any other company related taxes. I think they know that this would automatically involve HMRC who basically cannot refuse to recognise the correct status of the company.

    So now they are trying to impose a German ruling which says if a company owned by a sole director does not pay tax due then the sole director is liable in entirety. This of course only works as long as they keep insisting the company exists and is de facto in Germany. They have also tried via my German lawyer to persuade (harass) me to into closing down the company. Also as to the repeated tax demands I am always told just to make a zero return. I fact they have now reduced their estimates to zero for a couple of years but still insist I make a tax return for the company.

    They can wait until I have finished with my death bed.

    Germany has still not learned that treaties, such as the dual tax agreement, are not optional. Neither do they seem to realise that England is not Sudetenland over whom they can preside as they see fit.

    What I have started to do is now request prosecution of individual tax agents based on harassment etc. The german’s cannot ignore such requests, beat them with their own laws, but are constantly referring each indictment to the local authorities in the area of Bayreuth. Again I am complaining every time at a higher level.

    Maybe one day to the ECtHR.

    Sorry this is a bit long, but I welcome comments and would like to speak to others and exchange tips and information. In particular if anyone has found a German lawyer who is really prepared to fight this sort of situation. My experience in the last years was that they don’t want to get into trouble with the authorities in their area and play the whole business down. Money for doing SFA.

    Comment


      Anybody got any original documentation from PSB???

      I need some help. Myself along with many others all got royally screwed by the finanzamt due to the negligence of a UK accountant.
      I am looking for anybody with any original documentation ideally signed by MM (The accountant in question)
      A number of us started a complaint with the insititute of chartered accountants - and all of us only have photocopies - which is not enough to take action against him.
      The accountant in question is now claiming he had nothing to do with the scheme - had no part in it - and was not responsible for those of us who took his advice and ended up with criminal records in Germany.
      Any help would be appreciated - you wont get any money back - but you might sleep better knowing the person who caused you so much trouble would not be able to do this to anybody else in the future.
      Anybody else wanting to lodge a complaint can do so at the address below :
      https://www.icaew.com/en/about-icaew...ke-a-complaint

      Comment


        Criminal Record

        Originally posted by stayaway View Post
        I need some help. Myself along with many others all got royally screwed by the finanzamt due to the negligence of a UK accountant.
        I am looking for anybody with any original documentation ideally signed by MM (The accountant in question)
        A number of us started a complaint with the insititute of chartered accountants - and all of us only have photocopies - which is not enough to take action against him.
        The accountant in question is now claiming he had nothing to do with the scheme - had no part in it - and was not responsible for those of us who took his advice and ended up with criminal records in Germany.
        Any help would be appreciated - you wont get any money back - but you might sleep better knowing the person who caused you so much trouble would not be able to do this to anybody else in the future.
        Anybody else wanting to lodge a complaint can do so at the address below :
        https://www.icaew.com/en/about-icaew...ke-a-complaint
        What was the reason for the criminal charge?

        In my opinion the Finanzamt is actually using a nasty scam. I have just received a letter from the German State Attorney, I put in a request for the head of the tax evasion office at the Finanzamt Bayreuth to be prosecuted for various reasons including the fact that he had made no attempt to contact HMRC to check on my version. The letter states absolutely clearly that the Germans's are in no way obliged to follow up or take any action based on or using the dual tax agreement with the UK. If so I believe the foreign office should give notice. As I have often read. Germans believe Treaties are optional.

        -Paul-

        Comment


          Help needed: Suggestion for good cross-border legal specialists in Germany

          Hi

          I’m finding myself in dispute with the German tax authorities after a few years contracting in Germany.

          The situation is quite a mess as it involves taxation in both Germany and Switzerland. I’m a bit lost as I don’t fully understand relevant laws and so I need to find somebody who really understands these things and who can explain to me clearly what my options are and maybe represent me to the Tax Office there.

          Does anybody have any recommendations for people that they have used for this or for similar situations in Germany?

          Thanks in advance
          waterflow

          Comment


            Moved this post into the best thread for this kind of thing.
            "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
            - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

            Comment


              Seeking a Swiss-German cross border lawyer

              Hi

              I’m finding myself in dispute with the German tax authorities after a few years contracting in Germany.

              The situation is quite a mess as it involves taxation in both Germany and Switzerland. I’m a bit lost as I don’t fully understand relevant laws and so I need to find somebody who really understands these things and who can explain to me clearly what my options are and maybe represent me to the Tax Office there.

              Does anybody have any recommendations for people that they have used for this or for similar situations in Germany?

              Thanks in advance

              Comment


                I know the thread is yonks old, but what a five star world class rant it was kicking the thread off. We don't get quality ranting like that any more. Could be because of Brexit, I guess?
                Public Service Posting by the BBC - Bloggs Bulls**t Corp.
                Officially CUK certified - Thick as f**k.

                Comment


                  Originally posted by waterflow View Post
                  Hi

                  I’m finding myself in dispute with the German tax authorities after a few years contracting in Germany.

                  The situation is quite a mess as it involves taxation in both Germany and Switzerland. I’m a bit lost as I don’t fully understand relevant laws and so I need to find somebody who really understands these things and who can explain to me clearly what my options are and maybe represent me to the Tax Office there.

                  Does anybody have any recommendations for people that they have used for this or for similar situations in Germany?

                  Thanks in advance
                  I think you need to ask this in Germany and Switzerland eh?
                  Public Service Posting by the BBC - Bloggs Bulls**t Corp.
                  Officially CUK certified - Thick as f**k.

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by waterflow View Post
                    Hi

                    I’m finding myself in dispute with the German tax authorities after a few years contracting in Germany.

                    The situation is quite a mess as it involves taxation in both Germany and Switzerland. I’m a bit lost as I don’t fully understand relevant laws and so I need to find somebody who really understands these things and who can explain to me clearly what my options are and maybe represent me to the Tax Office there.

                    Does anybody have any recommendations for people that they have used for this or for similar situations in Germany?

                    Thanks in advance
                    And moved again..
                    "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
                    - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

                    Comment


                      I think that if you've asked the first time and got no response, you'll not get (sensible) advice if you ask for a second time in General.

                      As Fred Bloggs said, it will be better if you place this request in an expats forum for Germany/Switzerland.

                      Try here: https://www.englishforum.ch/forum.php They have Germany and Switzerland forums.
                      "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
                      - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

                      Comment

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