Would you like a riddle? What does the property tax deadline have to do with a patchwork quilt?

Unfortunately far too much.

After almost a third of property owners either slept through or ignored yesterday’s deadline for submitting property tax returns, there is disagreement in the countries: play the strong state, including the threat of late payment penalties and penalties? Or turn a blind eye again?

In Bavaria, they opted for the second option and extended the deadline by three months. Landowners in other countries are now shouting “unjust!” because the reminder printers are already running at full speed here.

Other countries should follow Bavaria’s initiative. That is the only reasonable consequence of the fact that hundreds of thousands of property tax returns are still missing. Anyway, one thing is certain: the principle of subsidiarity remains a piñata – and the property tax fiasco an ugly patchwork quilt.

Go to Article: Bavaria extends deadline for filing property tax returns

The solidarity surcharge is unconstitutional. That should have been today’s headline. Unfortunately, the Federal Fiscal Court decided the opposite in a despondent judgment today. Because the solidarity surcharge is not tied to the Solidarity Pact II, which expired in 2019. And because the federal government also had financial requirements in 2020 and 2021 due to reunification.

Politicians in particular will be happy about this, as they publicly argue about the pros and cons of a tax on the wealthy, even though they have long been de facto levying it with the solidarity surcharge. True to the motto: old tax, good tax. New tax, bad tax.

Go to Article: Federal Fiscal Court – lawsuit against solidarity surcharge dismissed

Panama, Luxembourg, Cyprus: For a long time, so-called tax havens were only reserved for wealthy people. In the meantime, more and more providers are advertising foreign tax-saving models at dumping prices. But how serious is tax avoidance as a mass product?
Whether tax flight abroad is morally justified is certainly open to debate. In fact, such tax-saving models are by no means worthwhile for everyone. On the contrary: if you get bad advice, you can quickly suffer economic damage.
In my new column for ZASTER you can find out who can save taxes abroad and who should refrain from shifting their tax affairs abroad.
Christian Dobner – Partner at TLI Steuerberater

The question of more fair taxation is one of the Germans’ favorite hot topics: some are calling for tax cuts, while others are calling for even greater redistribution.

I think that taxes are an effective steering tool and are not unfair per se. In my first column for the financial magazine ZASTER, however, I am in favor of clear limits if we do not want to jeopardize our prosperity.

From now on, as a columnist for ZASTER magazine, I will regularly take a look at tax and financial topics and classify them for you from my perspective as a tax consultant and entrepreneur.

You can find my full column on fair taxation here.

Christian Dobner – Partner at TLI Steuerberater

Do I have to file a tax return? A question that gets asked countless times on Google every day. Mostly by people who perceive working through the explanation sheets as a nuisance rather than what it actually is: a gift!

Only 54 percent of all taxpayers who do not have to file a tax return submit a tax return. It is mostly low-income employees who do not submit a declaration. As a result, taxpayers give the Treasury about one billion euros a year, which they are legally entitled to.

What also plays into the hands of the state: the explanation sheets are hardly understandable for laypeople, ELSTER is too opaque as a platform. Many people find the effort too high or the probability of a repayment too low.

88 percent of all people who submit a voluntary tax return also receive a refund. Even with a low income, this can quickly add up to three to four-digit amounts and secure a family vacation, for example. Or even an annual one-off support to be able to manage everyday life a little better.

So the question shouldn’t be “Do I have to…?”, but rather “May I?” or “How can I do my tax return?” Here’s the answer: Get a tax advisor, contact your income tax assistance association, or try tax apps like Taxfix, who take over the investment digitally for you beyond the tiresome arches and only ask easy-to-understand questions.

If you haven’t filed a tax return yet, what’s stopping you?

Christmas time is customer gift time.

As tax consultants, we experience it anew every year: the heated dance around compliant Christmas presents. Of course, you don’t want to stack too low with high-profile customers. At the same time, there are rules that both we and our customers must abide by.

What do we often notice? Many people lack the knowledge of when a customer gift is actually still compliant. So here are our three tips for customer gifts. Not only at Christmas time!

1. Basically, the legal de minimis limit is 35 euros per person per year. Gifts of this value do not have to be taxed, but are only suitable to a limited extent for high-profile customers who you want to make really happy.

2. In the case of higher values, the donator can tax the gift at a flat rate of 30 percent (plus SoliZ and KiSt). This basically eliminates the tax obligations for the recipient. But be careful: the flat rate only applies to gifts up to 10,000 euros.

3. What we experience again and again: The larger and the more public the company or the person receiving the gift is, the stricter the internal compliance guidelines. Less is sometimes more here – and a gift, no matter how much you would like to give it, may not be appropriate.

More net from the gross: That would be an effective and much simpler relief. In hardly any other country does the treasury dig deep into the pockets of workers as it does in Germany.

One relief package after the other is put together from the income. Why make it simple when you can make it complicated?

The federal government’s third relief package resembles a sprinkler system that tries to extinguish the entire house. And that, although only individual rooms are on fire. Many of the measures, such as lump-sum transfer payments to pensioners and students, are expensive and imprecise. A large chunk of the 65 billion euros will seep away somewhere where the money is not needed.

The dying working middle class, who largely get nothing themselves, can pay for themselves, but co-finance such packages with high taxes and levies. The graphic shows: An average earner has about as much money to live on as the state receives for his work. This puts Germany among the best in the world.

It is correct that low-income households in particular, which are suffering particularly from the current situation, should be relieved. But more and more middle-income people no longer know how to cope with the skyrocketing prices.

In these difficult times, the federal government should also noticeably and sustainably relieve those who fill the state coffers with their services – and leave the employed with more net from the gross.

Since July 2022, landowners in Germany have been able to submit a declaration to the tax authorities to determine the new property tax. The deadline ends on October 31, 2022. It is halftime.

Based on the well-known map of Germany from the weather report, this map for this article does not show high temperatures, but on the contrary particularly low values.

A look at the rate of submission of property tax returns in the individual federal states shows that only a fraction of the more than 35 million applications have been submitted so far. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper, the fewest taxes are in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with a rate of just 4.2 percent. At 13.9 percent, Hessen is currently doing relatively well in a comparison of the federal states, but is still far below the actual tax rate of 50% that is to be expected.

The Elster portal offered by the tax authorities, through which the majority of property tax returns are submitted, crashed on the first weekend with just a few hundred thousand inquiries. It is therefore doubtful that all applications will be received without any problems by the deadline of October 31, 2022.

TLI Steuerberatungsgesellschaft Dobner GmbH & Co. KG was awarded for the fourth time in a row by Yourfirm.de, the leading online job exchange for medium-sized companies in German-speaking countries, as “Top Employer in medium-sized companies 2022“.

“Top Employer in medium-sized companies 2022”

 

The aim of the award is to focus on the advantages of medium-sized employers for job seekers and to give them orientation when looking for interesting employers in medium-sized companies.

Since 2015, Yourfirm has been selecting companies based on a “popularity index” for the published job advertisements and company profiles among the applicants. The 1,000 best-rated companies receive the “Top Employer in medium-sized companies 2022” seal.

Head of Human Resources from TLI Steuerberater Inga Stankeviciute: “We are very pleased about the award “Top Employer in medium-sized companies 2022″. This shows us that we are perceived as an attractive employer by potential applicants and that we stand out from our competitors on the job market. An appreciative environment, short decision-making processes, clear career prospects, rapid advancement opportunities, diverse and challenging tasks are just a few of the reasons that make TLI Steuerberater attractive to applicants. Especially in challenging times like the ones we are currently experiencing, it is important to emphasize these strengths when looking for personnel. The companies that continue to hire and grow during these times are strong and attractive employers. We too have grown during these challenging times and look forward to continuing our success story.”

Visit our career page and learn more about your career opportunities at TLI Steuerberater: tlitax.com/en/career

FOCUS-MONEY Award – TLI Steuerberatungsgesellschaft Dobner GmbH & Co. KG is one of the “TOP Tax Advisers 2021”!

FOCUS-MONEY has put the top tax advisers nationwide to the test in order to find the most competent tax advisers from more than 100,000 tax experts.

TLI Steuerberater is one of the most competent “TOP Tax Advisers 2021” nationwide.

In 2021, FOCUS-MONEY once again recognized us as one of the TOP tax advisors in 2021. We have been recognized for our expert knowledge and our specialization in International tax law, European tax law, Corporate income tax in the banking, financial services, real estate and construction sectors.

FOUCS-MONEY describes us as professionals with foresight – The experts from large tax consultancies are available to corporations, medium-sized companies and wealthy private individuals. They offer qualified solutions in almost all special questions – also internationally. Regardless of whether a generation change or an expansion abroad is pending – Here is competent help.

We say thank you to the jury, to our clients and colleagues!