. . Germany - the taxman cometh

[BlightyBoy]

It isn't a deal, it is bonafide, part of the DTA and applicable thruoughout the EU, if you present a document from HMRC showing tax paid it probably won't be questioned.

Quite right Mr. Bates. A bad choice of words on my part.

When I said "deal" I didn't mean to infer some sort of apparently dodgy deal with tax authorities, I meant a deal for ITECS clients (i.e. contractors) that is based on exactly the guidelines you described.

[BlightyBoy]

Generally you can (in theory at least) continue paying UK NI instead of foreign SS for (I think) 5 years. Though I'm told by those I know woh've tried it that it doesn't seem that easy in practice.

I looked into this myself with regard to pension contributions - a little "off-subject" however...

You can make class 1 NICs forever, theoretically, as they are wholly voluntary. However, you can only draw "benefit" from these NICs for a period of five years.

If, as Mr. Bates so rightly corrected me on, you can demonstrate (at least on paper) that you have UK based earnings, on which tax and NICs are paid, this gives you some opportunities to make your situation more tax-efficient by, as I mentioned in my bates-corrected-post, exploiting your UK based tax allowances and thus offsetting part of your fully-transparent and fully-declared income into a more favourable taxation system.

In theory at least...

The nub, I presume, would be to be able to demonstrate genuine UK based income rather than some sort of bypassing of the local tax system. Difficult if the local authorities can make a good case for your "center of life" being not in the UK.

It's essentially the same mechanism as is used for declaring UK based income derived from rents, dividends or saving interest.

[Edelweiss]

Are you completely dim?

You're a bulls***er.

All your points have no merit.

Your whole philosophy is to come up with some weak argument that your some how "Self Employed" when you work in an office on a PC like all the Permies. And as long as you pay tax "Somewhere" that's all legal then... HA HA!

I'll be laughing when your whole lying s***-house burns to the ground.

[BlightyBoy]

You're a bulls***er.

All your points have no merit.
...

I'll be laughing when your whole lying s***-house burns to the ground.

Then that answers my question - you are completely dim.

There is one main discussion going on here, and that is about tax payments, or in the case of some people, not.

The nature of my work has no bearing on my legal responsibility to pay tax. Whether I am a permanent member of staff, a contractor, or a street salesmen is academic. Tax is payable on all earnings, and this you must know.

As for where and how I work at a client or an employers site, as you put it

...some weak argument that your some how "Self Employed" when you work in an office on a PC like all the Permies. And as long as you pay tax "Somewhere" that's all legal then... HA HA!

has to do with Rein- and Scheinselbstständigkeit (real- and psuedo freelancing), the german equivalent of IR35, and that has less than nothing to do with tax.

If you were a contractor with any experience, you would know this also.

<insert choice profane insult here>

[Northerner]

Do not feed the troll

All your points have no merit.

The pot calling the kettle black?

If you look through your post history, it's very hard to read what you write almost as if English is not your first language.

[xiao147]

Returning to Germany

OK, I was thinking about coming back to Germany to visit friends etc, but I'm a bit worried about being stopped at immigration (since I used one of those MCs a few years ago).

Am I worrying unnecessarily?
Anyone else been stopped or know of anyone who has been?

[expat]

OK, I was thinking about coming back to Germany to visit friends etc, but I'm a bit worried about being stopped at immigration (since I used one of those MCs a few years ago).

Am I worrying unnecessarily?
Anyone else been stopped or know of anyone who has been?

Go to a neighbouring Schengen country then enter overland.

[ASB]

OK, I was thinking about coming back to Germany to visit friends etc, but I'm a bit worried about being stopped at immigration (since I used one of those MCs a few years ago).

Am I worrying unnecessarily?
Anyone else been stopped or know of anyone who has been?

Well, I had an agent who was detained leaving LHR coming to belgium about 25 years ago. Pre schengen of course. There were some outstanding issues in the UK - of which he knowe nothing - but there was a court order. [Hint it can be very useful if absolutely everybody knows you've moved].

I also had a mate who was detained on arrival at a british colony on arrival due to some outstanding issues at a different one. There was a warrant out for him.

You'll only pass immigartion if you are arriving from non schengen - eg us. If there are outstanding issues then you do have the risk at detention. But unless you've done a complete runner, no forwarding adress etc of any description then you'd probably know if there were any outstanding matters.

[tim123]

OK, I was thinking about coming back to Germany to visit friends etc, but I'm a bit worried about being stopped at immigration (since I used one of those MCs a few years ago).

Am I worrying unnecessarily?
Anyone else been stopped or know of anyone who has been?

Yes, No

tim

[Trout]

OK, I was thinking about coming back to Germany to visit friends etc, but I'm a bit worried about being stopped at immigration (since I used one of those MCs a few years ago).

Am I worrying unnecessarily?
Anyone else been stopped or know of anyone who has been?

I am one of the people being investigated. I have put the question whether I could be stopped at immigration directly to the tax officer handling my case and the answer was NO. You do not need to worry about this matter.

Another thing is that now I know for sure the current ongoing investigation of the MCs' clients will involve investigating people in European countries, and being out of Germany does not mean one is off the hook.