Contracting in Germany with UK agency

[guiri]

These are the facts:
1. Contract is with UK agency for a Spanish consultancy and I operate ltd in UK and am UK citizen
2. The Spanish consultancy has placed me on their client site - Spanish bank in Germany
3. The agency keeps bothering me for German solution but they themselves do not have the right to operate in Germany to begin with.
4. The agency brings the 183 day rule all the time, which does exist but is it as simple as spent time in the country - all my Spanish colleagues for example who are employees of the Spanish company spend on average more then 183 days in Germany and I doubt they pay German taxes.

So the question is am I legally obliged to pay taxes in Germany or can I continue to operate my ltd in UK and pay my UK taxes like I have done for over 11 years of contracting. Family, home, financial interests are all UK based, I have nothing in writing in Germany, no bank account no contract for rent etc. I asked my German Manager and she said - yes Germany knows you work here but they don't care as your contracts are with Spain.

[stek]

These are the facts:
1. Contract is with UK agency for a Spanish consultancy and I operate ltd in UK and am UK citizen
2. The Spanish consultancy has placed me on their client site - Spanish bank in Germany
3. The agency keeps bothering me for German solution but they themselves do not have the right to operate in Germany to begin with.
4. The agency brings the 183 day rule all the time, which does exist but is it as simple as spent time in the country - all my Spanish colleagues for example who are employees of the Spanish company spend on average more then 183 days in Germany and I doubt they pay German taxes.

So the question is am I legally obliged to pay taxes in Germany or can I continue to operate my ltd in UK and pay my UK taxes like I have done for over 11 years of contracting. Family, home, financial interests are all UK based, I have nothing in writing in Germany, no bank account no contract for rent etc. I asked my German Manager and she said - yes Germany knows you work here but they don't care as your contracts are with Spain.

U will pay German taxes but u can register freelance but to if you haven't Googled that so far to be honest you'd be better to just pay German tax as normal.

Oh, and one more thing, the German taxman is far worse than the UK one, as you will know from searching this forum.

[guiri]

U will pay German taxes but u can register freelance but to if you haven't Googled that so far to be honest you'd be better to just pay German tax as normal.

Oh, and one more thing, the German taxman is far worse than the UK one, as you will know from searching this forum.

I do not want to pay German taxes or register, in fact do not need to register for anything. German taxman is bad I know but so far I am a ghost, no money is even coming from Germany - all comes from Spain - the only German thing is company laptop and an office full of spaniards.

[stek]

I do not want to pay German taxes or register, in fact do not need to register for anything. German taxman is bad I know but so far I am a ghost, no money is even coming from Germany - all comes from Spain - the only German thing is company laptop and an office full of spaniards.

You have to register, even as an EU Citizen, you have to register at the Town Hall within 90 days AIUI. That;s how German Taxman knows u exist...

Doesn't matter who, where or what - you are working in Germany you pay German tax, if you thing you can avoid this read the threads here, some harrowing stories and going back home won;t protect you.

Suggest you look at freiberufler to minimise your tax liability but to be honest, you need to do your research first, this is Germany, not Spain or some other South EU corrupt society....

[stek]

First of all though, are you an EU Citizen?

[stek]

First of all though, are you an EU Citizen?

Reread first post sorry, in which case you should read the forums more.

[stek]

Germany knows you work here but they don't care as your contracts are with Spain.

Hahahahahahahha!

[BlasterBates]

These are the facts:
1. Contract is with UK agency for a Spanish consultancy and I operate ltd in UK and am UK citizen
2. The Spanish consultancy has placed me on their client site - Spanish bank in Germany
3. The agency keeps bothering me for German solution but they themselves do not have the right to operate in Germany to begin with.
4. The agency brings the 183 day rule all the time, which does exist but is it as simple as spent time in the country - all my Spanish colleagues for example who are employees of the Spanish company spend on average more then 183 days in Germany and I doubt they pay German taxes.

So the question is am I legally obliged to pay taxes in Germany or can I continue to operate my ltd in UK and pay my UK taxes like I have done for over 11 years of contracting. Family, home, financial interests are all UK based, I have nothing in writing in Germany, no bank account no contract for rent etc. I asked my German Manager and she said - yes Germany knows you work here but they don't care as your contracts are with Spain.

No question you are obliged to pay German taxes. You can take your chances but if they do an audit in a few years time they will chase you up and press criminal charges. So it may come back to haunt you long after you've forgotten about it. The other thing is you won't pay a great deal more tax in Germany than you would in the UK, so what's the point of running the risk.

[scooterscot]

The other thing is you won't pay a great deal more tax in Germany than you would in the UK, so what's the point of running the risk.

WHS. I pay taxes here in Germany, not much difference between here and the UK especially when you consider personal taxes and if you're here with family but avoid agencies pedalling AUG if indeed you are a freelancer i.e. with more than one client.

[guiri]

WHS. I pay taxes here in Germany, not much difference between here and the UK especially when you consider personal taxes and if you're here with family but avoid agencies pedalling AUG if indeed you are a freelancer i.e. with more than one client.

Thats the problem - all my running costs are in UK, family too so is not a question of avoiding is a case of is easier and cheaper to continue paying it in UK. I think the 183 days a year rule applies to me as I am posted to work in Germany same as if I was working for any company in UK and asked to spend few days a week on client site in Germany - but I am sure that many people exceed that (183 rule) and some are contractors and some are employees. Anyway to avoid the risk will try not to exceed the 183 days rule and leave although there is very little risk of being caught even less so of proving how many days were worked in germany itself as i also work from Home (UK).