Support in tax field audits
There are few things that are more unpleasant than a tax field audit. On one hand, there is an uncertainty what the auditor will pick up or find, and on the other hand there is the anxiety that the audit could eventually turn out to be expensive. Moreover, the legislative authority has imposed numerous obligations on the taxpayers related to disclosure and cooperation.
What can happen: Penalty payments, surcharges, valuation authority – if disclosure and cooperation obligations are not complied with?
Those who fail to comply with their duties within the scope of the tax audit risk considerable disadvantages. What may happen, we have summarized here.
We at Benefitax have extensive experience in dealing with tax auditors. We take over from you and and try to defend you, as good and as much as we can. Read further below.
Support in tax field audits. We are there for you when things get rough
If you have engaged us to take care of your regular accounting and tax affairs, you do not need to do much. We offer you full service in this case. The tax authorities send the notice regarding the tax field audit to us as your power of attorney and decide on a date and place of the audit with us. Of course, we will inform you of the same and coordinate internally with you. The tax field audits are generally carried out at our premises. Sometimes, it is necessary or advisable that members of the board of management or from the accounting department of our clients join in for the opening and closing meetings. We constantly keep you informed on the progress of the audit and jointly agree on all the important issues with you.
In case you are not yet a client and are looking for help from a certified tax advisor for the first time or if you want to change the certified tax advisor, we will be happy to check whether we can take on your case. Such tasks are accepted by us only if we have the necessary professional competence and available time and see an opportunity that we can help you further. We can, however, advise on many expert questions and accept the case completely, or selectively act as experts only for the tax field audit or parts thereof. These parts can be e.g. in the area of international taxation, wage taxation or VAT.
We are the experts in cross-border transactions
When a specialized auditor is called in for cross-border transactions during an ongoing tax field audit, things can get tough. These auditors are particularly well-trained specialists for cross-border tax issues. If your certified tax advisor is out of his depth, this would be the last-possible time for you to even call in a specialist. Benefitax is one such specialist and comes with a vast experience in international taxation. Your certified tax advisor can thus remain responsible for all the national tax issues. Upon request, we only take care of the cross-border transactions. Under this offering, we will be able to provide a financial review, assess queries or preliminary findings of the tax field audit, respond to these and negotiate with the specialized auditors for cross-border transactions, either informally or in the closing meeting. We advocate for your rights.
Best-positioned in fiscal courts proceedings
Even if you just want a second opinion or your certified tax advisor needs support with respect to the tax field audit, we will be at your disposal. In such matters, often a lot of money is concerned, and every new good idea is welcome to relieve the additional tax burden. If an agreement with the tax authorities is not possible, we will be happy to check further steps that can be taken. This starts with a professional preparation of the final meeting, goes on to appeal procedures against the tax assessments, and up to legal actions taken in fiscal courts, or arbitration proceedings. We are well-positioned in this context.
We help you in many audits of the authorities
If you operate a company or are part of a group of people with high income, the authorities can perform field audits. We can assist you in the following audits:
- Special VAT audits of the tax authorities
- Special wage tax audits of the tax authorities
- Audits of a specialized auditor for cross-border matters
- General tax field audits
- Criminal proceedings for tax fraud and other tax offenses were initiated against you and a tax fraud investigation (with a search warrant) is imminent
- Audits of the employment agency
- Audits of the German Federal Pension Scheme (social security)
If you want to know how tax field auditors proceed and what they are looking at, you can find further information here.