. . Germany - the taxman cometh

[SalsaFever]

Which one is MC A?

I was wondering which one is the 'MC A' mentioned in the posts?

I know two MC starting with 'A' was working with Mr.H

One has six letters and based in bordering country in south. The other is just four letters and doing business in Frankfurt.

Just some updates from my personal interaction with Mr.H office recently:
1. not everyone's file is confiscated. So it's look like finanzamt has a pattern, they have some sort of criteria (maybe those registered in bayern AND working with that telecom company AND working with Mr.H IS the first criteria to get you shortlisted). If you ask Mr.H, he tells if your files are taken or not. I believe he is sharing this info with relevant MCs, a friend asked his MC and got answer.
2. Mr.H is still in business, even asking his clients to send documents/receipts for 2008 filings.

So I believe, whatever happening, not really effecting Mr.H, since he is still in business. If he was charged because of a major wrongdoing, I believe his license would be suspended immediately.

Also remember the MC P, which was the center of attraction earlier, told contractors to do %70 and back apply it if possible? Now most of its clients filed tax for 2007 and some even for 2008 and got all approved by F-amt. Does this mean now there is a de-facto truce among those declaring %70 and f-amt?

[LonelyRider]

The visits are raids. The investigators come with a court order and are entitled to search your appartment. They are definitely not regular tax audits.

I would not trust anything Mr H says at this point. I was also discouraged to do so by the investigators themselves.

Based on what I was told by the investigators, I would not count on being off the hook, even if my file was not taken during the first visit to Mr H's premises.

I am not in Bayern and I had a visit a few weeks ago.

[LonelyRider]

Getting proofs is really easy for the tax investigators, they will just check the books of your German client. They already know how much the MCs charge per month and your agency's fees can be asked directly from them.

[BlightyBoy]

Does your lawyer have any advice on what we should tell if the house is visited? Should we admit it on the spot or keep it quite until they proof it.

Sorry Salsa, didn't see your post till just now.

The advice that I was given was to admit to nothing until/unless the Finanzamt can provide sufficient proof that they are not just "rattling cages".

From a legal perspective, not co-operating (assuming you are "guilty" to begin with) from the outset will have little or no affect on the outcome of the investigation. A judge is not going to take your "co-operation" into account when "sentencing". According to the brief, it is simply a case of them calculating a fine based on an amount of money believed, or proved to be owing.

What my brief also said is that technically, the Finanzamt cannot raid your house without a warrant. However, cases where the Finanzamt have "tried their arm" are not unheard of, indeed sometimes people can be raided (my briefs words, not mine) just 'cause the Finanzamt are bored.

Also technically, a visit (as opposed to a raid), does not require you to allow them entry to your property (unless the visit is an audit which has been arranged by prior appointment). My brief did say, however, that with a small amount of "suspicion" on the part of the Finanzamt, refusal to allow entry (on a visit) could cause them to seek further powers and subsequently "raid" you.

As I had mentioned in my previous posts, if you have been ... "naughty" then you need to be certain that nothing incriminating is left at the house (or indeed at work, or anywhere else where it could easily be seized). My briefs advice was, to summarise, that it is best to do and say nothing until the Finanzamt are forced to show their hand.

[BlightyBoy]

The visits are raids. The investigators come with a court order and are entitled to search your appartment. They are definitely not regular tax audits.

Please be careful with your terminology. There is a big difference between a "visit" and a raid".

Primarily the presentation of a court-order or warrant and the arrival of a "Green-and-white" indicates a "raid.

Anybody who has had a knock on the door and not seen either of the above has been "visited".

"Visits" can also be part of a regular tax-audits (I think Darmstadt has experience here with a regular audit).

[BlightyBoy]

Getting proofs is really easy for the tax investigators, they will just check the books of your German client. They already know how much the MCs charge per month and your agency's fees can be asked directly from them.

We've covered this subject before...



Anybody who is contracting, anywhere in the world, will not be being paid the same rate that the agent is charging the client.

Unless you are direct to the client, there can be no parallels drawn between the rate the client pays and the totals in the invoices a contractor raises to the agent.

Furthermore.....

The Finanzamt do not know agents or MCs rates, unless they use some legal fulcrum to prise the information out of them.

If you have a contract with an amount, "X" per hour on it, and this matches your invoices which match deposits into your german bank account, then this is all you need to worry about.

Now stop with the bulltulip. Please!!!!

[BlasterBates]

The legal distinction is between a Betriebsprüfung, Steuerfahndung, and a Search Warrant/Haftbefehl.

The Green and White is basically an arrest warrant. What Lonely Rider experienced is a "Steuerfahndung".

[LonelyRider]

The legal distinction is between a Betriebsprüfung, Steuerfahndung, and a Search Warrant/Haftbefehl.

The Green and White is basically an arrest warrant. What Lonely Rider experienced is a "Steuerfahndung".

That is right, they came with a warrant issued by a court, but were not planning or prepared to arrest me. I was legally obliged to let them in and allow them to seach the premises. They gave me a copy of that warrant.

I can also confirm that the books of the companies, in which I have worked have been checked by them.

[xiao147]

We've covered this subject before...
The Finanzamt do not know agents or MCs rates, unless they use some legal fulcrum to prise the information out of them.

But what about all those people who have already done self-accusations and are going through the same MC? They are all reporting the same MC rate. Isn't it pretty obvious that anyone else using that MC is also subject to the same MC-rate?

[SalsaFever]

I can also confirm that the books of the companies, in which I have worked have been checked by them.

Blighty, Thanks for the advice... if it's ok, Could you pm me the details of your lawyer, I kinda liked that guy.

LonelyRider,
How many times did you file taxes with H? Is it only once or more? Have you ever worked/registered in Bayern? Especially in Munich? Have you contracted with that big telco company in Munich where everything started first? Have you ever used the raided Agency/MC in Munich?

I think, besides working with H, it also matters who/where you work in the past.

The center of gravity is still in Munich/Bayern. So if you worked in Bayern, especially with that big company or that MC which is raided, that's very high likely you will get visited.

Also it depends on how many years you filed taxes with H. If you doing this very looong time, it's likely they go after you first. But if you just filed for one or two years, then you may be end up at the end of the processing que.