. . Germany - the taxman cometh

[BlasterBates]

The Finanzamt letter is framed in a general way i.e. "did you know Mr blah blah if you happen to have a foreign bank account with a hidden amount and that you haven't declared it you can self-report yourself and avoid a criminal prosecution, just thought we'd let you know in case you happened to have one" hint hint hint. They do this when they suspect you. I saw this on television, about tax evaders and whether the Finanzamt was beig "too soft" by warning offenders. The discussion is whether the immunity should be removed as you have nothing to lose by evading the taxes and then wait for your Swiss bank to write to you to inform you to self report, and even the Finanzamt were doing it, presumably to save the hassle of investigating.

[SalsaFever]

If you worked in Germany with a German agent the F-amt will go directly to the agent and find out how much they paid Albany. Then they will want to know what happened to the difference.

So what?
The difference is the profit on Albanys side. It doesn't prove that you received the difference.

So having such invoices has no use for famt other than enabling them to do psychological pressure on you. Some people cracks down easily.

Actually the only and sole reason they do the house raids are to obtain bank statements or other money trail to prove you receive the difference. (and make you crack under heavy pressure).

[TiroFijo]

So if the amounts are insignificant and you can afford it, just do the self-correction and come clean.

First you tell him that they don't have enough or anything on him then you tell him to fess up. If they don't have enough or anything on him then why would he want to go running to gerry with his hands up?

What exactly can they do about it? And how may I ask would they have his invoices, I mean they are made up by Albany and or the UK agent upon receival of his timesheet. Not even his german accountant would have them. The only monies the accountant sees is the dosh sent from Albany to his german bank account. That's one of the main reasons he used Albany in the first place in that they act as his invoicing machine.

So unless these fooking gestapal are now raiding management companies in London then how they could get them is beyound me.

I would keep quiet.

[poppy01]

First you tell him that they don't have enough or anything on him then you tell him to fess up. If they don't have enough or anything on him then why would he want to go running to gerry with his hands up?

What exactly can they do about it? And how may I ask would they have his invoices, I mean they are made up by Albany and or the UK agent upon receival of his timesheet. Not even his german accountant would have them. The only monies the accountant sees is the dosh sent from Albany to his german bank account. That's one of the main reasons he used Albany in the first place in that they act as his invoicing machine.

So unless these fooking gestapal are now raiding management companies in London then how they could get them is beyound me.

I would keep quiet.

Thanks everyone, mixed but useful. Since I have no intention of going back, I'm going to sit tight and wait. Maybe they'll pursue maybe not, at worst I think I might have to find additonal penalties and get back the tax I paid HMRC. Either way, because I feel I was somewhat duped into using Albany (I worked alongside guys who were invisible to F-amt and never paid a penny of tax in Germany), and I have paid tax on every penny, either in UK or Germany, I really don't feel 'guilty' of anything.

[CodeKid]

Not in UK. Meaning that f-amt can not get UK banks disclose anything.

This could be only a concern if f-amt finds out (usually during a raid) your UK accounts and ask you to disclose details of specific account numbers.

(so that's why it's recommended to not carry UK bank cards with you in case you raided and not to make any swifts from/to your UK account to/from your German account, since these will make your foreign account visible to f-amt)

I also witnessed some UK banks are very understanding and trying to protect their loyal (and rich) customers, so they MAY issue a letter stating that transactions older than 2 years are not visible / destroyed / inaccesable. It's up to you and your personal relationship with branch manager to sign anything you want from him/her.

A foreign tax authority eg F-amt cannot access any details of your non-German accounts (except - as pointed out by earlier post - via a raid where you carelessely left details for them to collect). Even if they know the bank name, account, SWIFT code etc

[gremlin]

A foreign tax authority eg F-amt cannot access any details of your non-German accounts (except - as pointed out by earlier post - via a raid where you carelessely left details for them to collect). Even if they know the bank name, account, SWIFT code etc

I am now in the UK. My German accountant said that the F-amt were legally entitled to see my UK statements. Is that not true?

[darmstadt]

I am now in the UK. My German accountant said that the F-amt were legally entitled to see my UK statements. Is that not true?

I don't know about that but I do know that the Finanzamt get details of everyone's bank accounts in Germany directly transmitted to them from the banks on a very regular basis. This is also true for a number of foreign banks, whether UK banks are included I cannot say.

[Edelweiss]

I don't know about that but I do know that the Finanzamt get details of everyone's bank accounts in Germany directly transmitted to them from the banks on a very regular basis. This is also true for a number of foreign banks, whether UK banks are included I cannot say.

Being a lying NAZI Kraut yourself, you should know they have the Software to monitor anything they want? So I'm right. In fact, this is all a Set-Up and you're a **** (And BB mst be a Kraut as well).

[darmstadt]

Being a lying NAZI Kraut yourself, you should know they have the Software to monitor anything they want? So I'm right. In fact, this is all a Set-Up and you're a **** (And BB mst be a Kraut as well).

you really are a sad little mixed up person

[SalsaFever]

Phone tapping

According to the attorney I spoke to, in recent years, he observes f-amt is more eager to use phone tappings even for the small fish like us.

So please be quite if you using a German SIM Card, never ever discuss such things with your lawyer on the phone, also never ever talked to the management company / your steuerberater / your agency etc.