Criminal Liability in Tax Law

The difference between legal tax reduction and illegal tax evasion can be a narrow one. Even citizens who try to deal honestly with tax authorities can become tangled in the thickets of German tax law. An audit can then become a crisis.

Advising and defending clients in criminal tax matters requires not only knowledge of German tax and criminal law, but often also of other areas such as accounting and company law, as well as an understanding of the business context. In addition, criminal tax matters are marked by certain peculiarities, such as the double role of tax agencies as both investigators and tax collectors. Defense lawyers must be aware of these aspects to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks posed by the interaction between tax and criminal-law proceedings.

Our specialty is defense, as well as handling of voluntary reports of false or incomplete information to the authorities. We generally work with experienced accountants. If an external audit of a firm threatens to lead to a criminal investigation, we handle crisis management and will miss no opportunity to avoid the worst by timely intervention with the investigative authorities.