Tax penalty law

This generally involves income from capital assets that has been incorrectly disclosed, or cash gifts that have not been disclosed to the tax office, or similar matters. We re-determine the basis for taxation and prepare a corrected tax return for our clients for every relevant assessment period.

In order to avoid serious tactical mistakes from the outset, which can be made during an unannounced visit from tax office personnel, we strongly advise the affected persons to engage a lawyer experienced in this area without delay to be present on site for the visit.
The lawyers from our law firm who are specialists in this area have participated in numerous visits from tax office personnel and know exactly what mechanisms are at work here. They are contactable at all times by clients who specifically anticipate a visit or who consider it hypothetically possible that they may be visited.

In this phase of proceedings we are generally involved with officers from the fines and criminal matters area of the investigating tax office or – at the next highest level – with the public prosecutor’s office and the tax investigator’s office. Here we are concerned, in the interests of our client, to avoid the matter being referred to the next highest level of proceedings, specifically the proceedings being given to the Public Prosecutor’s Office or the Criminal Court. Our lawyers carefully weigh up the chances and risks of alternative options against one another and develop a defense strategy on this basis together with our client. In the event of serious allegations, should a German or European detention order be issued against a client who resides in Germany or within the EU then we represent our client’s interests before the committing judge and if necessary we appeal the detention order all the way to the German Federal Constitutional Court.

A valid voluntary disclosure has the result that the taxpayer is not penalized despite having avoided tax. Our focus here lies primarily on voluntary disclosures with penalty waiver for clients who maintain accounts abroad and who have not disclosed the earnings on these amounts to the German tax office to date. In order to comply with the requirements for a valid voluntary disclosure it is necessary to undertake an – often very comprehensive – re-calculation of the taxpayer’s income. We support our clients here and in the communications with the tax office and, if necessary, with the criminal authorities. Confidentiality is the highest imperative. We have and continue to assist persons who are known throughout the country as public figures in this sensitive area without the matters coming to the attention of the press.

In the event that charges are brought by the Office of Public Prosecutions and approval of the prosecution following conclusion of the intermediate proceedings cannot be prevented, then lawyers from our law firm take on our client’s defense before the criminal courts.
If it makes sense to do so, we include experienced criminal defense lawyers from other law firms in our network in the defense team.