German Chartered Accountants vs. pure German Certified Tax Adivisors

Chartered Accountants have extensive experience and go through years of training. Often, clients decide on hiring a Chartered Accountant instead of a certified tax advisor because of the well-grounded and extensive training of Chartered Accountants, which frequently results in a high quality of their work. In addition, an impeccable reputation always plays an important role […]

Tax Number – How can you get it?

The tax number is mandatory on all outgoing invoices. The recipient of an invoice cannot deduct input tax without the tax number of the supplier on the invoice. Of course this only applies to companies with input tax authorization. Without a VAT ID number (Value Added Tax Identification Number) a company cannot identify itself as […]

Branch office vs. Company

We are often asked which one is better: a branch office or a GmbH (Limited Liability Company). Mostly two issues are incorrectly estimated. Many believe that the effort and costs for establishing and administering a branch office are much less than for a subsidiary. Others incorrectly think that they can conduct business in Germany or […]

Legal Form Selection

Selection of the legal form before the foundation of a company is much more than just a formality. There are many legal and tax-related risks and opportunities to be evaluated. We advise you on the selection of the suitable legal form. Factors, which are decisive in the legal form selection Foundation of a company in […]

GGI Global Alliance AG

GGI is a limited company governed by Swiss law with administrative headquarters in Zurich. More than 600 member firms are present in over 120 countries. More than 29,000 employees generated a cumulative turnover of over 6 billion US dollars in 2019. AccountancyAge’s Top 21 International Alliances and Associations 2021 ranking positions GGI second in the […]

Self disclosure – How does it work?

There is no form and no formal regulation for self-disclosure. The written form is always preferable for keeping evidence. The taxpayer must subsequently declare all amounts not subject to the limitation period and not declared previously. Partial self-disclosures (either not all previous years or not all tax types or not all income) are invalid. If […]

Tax evasion – When does it reach the statute of limitation?

Tax evasion is subject to a limitation period of 10 years and in case of unintentional tax fraud 5 years. However, the limitation period only starts at the end of each year, in which a tax return is filed. If a tax return is not filed, the limitation period only starts after 3 years, i.e. […]

Tax Evasion – Consequences

If the tax authorities detect and prove tax evasion, the worst case scenario is being sentenced to 10 years in prison. In case of smaller offenses with up to €50,000 evaded tax, only penalties are imposed. In case the evaded tax amount ranges between €50,000 to €100,000, a prison sentence, which can be suspended, is […]

Black money: Why is the risk of being found particularly high now?

Why is black money no longer “safe” in any tax haven? The shortest possible answer: see Panama Papers. A more detailed answer: All offers to conceal black money are per se untrustworthy. Nevertheless, it is only a matter of time until the most remote tax havens agree to exchange information, get rid of their banking […]

Inheritance tax rates in Germany

Tax value up to & incl. Tax class    1 2  3 75.000 Euro 7 % 15 % 30 % 300.000 Euro 11 % 20 % 30 % 600.000 Euro 15 % 25 % 30 % 6.000.000 Euro 19 % 30 % 30 % 13.000.000 Euro 23 % 35 % 50 % 26.000.000 Euro 27 % 40 % 50 % more […]