Boris Becker has been a lot: tennis star, figurehead, poker face, Central African sports attaché in spe. But he had also slipped into less laudable roles, such as that involuntarily comic one, when he was caught in a broom. But his financial failures are also legendary. Worse still, his crimes have tarnished his image. He had recently served a prison sentence for misrepresentation in connection with bankruptcy proceedings in the UK.

Boris Becker began his first crime in his home country, however, when he robbed the German Treasury of tax revenue in the millions. By pretending to be taxable only in Monaco, although he also had a residence in Munich, he had committed tax evasion. But the German tax investigation came to him on the track. After all, it is difficult for a prominent person of his rank, who regularly appears in public, to hide his own stay in Germany. And so the suspicion arose that Boris Becker had probably been taxable in Germany, which could finally be proven in court.

Most Germans, but also many people abroad, know Boris Becker for his successful career as a tennis professional. His victories in Wimbleton and elsewhere worldwide are legendary. But these successes had also cast deep shadows on his person. Because with the sporting success came also the wealth. But where wealth goes hand in hand with fame, hubris is usually very close, especially among young people.

Boris Becker was also quite young when he inspired the masses with his sporting talent and filled his accounts with prize money and advertising revenue. Already the next connection arises, which one as top earner inevitably encounters in Germany: the income tax. So it is obvious that Boris Becker was looking for ways to minimize his tax burden as much as possible. Which is also understandable in that, as a young person, you often have a strong tendency to enjoy life – and you often spend a lot of money on it. (Of course, this also applies to older people who still feel young).

As a globally acclaimed star, Boris Becker was of course able to fully enjoy his fame outside Germany. So what would keep him in Germany if he could shine in the spotlight of public interest abroad without having to pay taxes there? You already know the answer.

So Boris Becker followed the call of the international jet set and emigrated from Germany to settle in the Principality of Monaco. Because Monaco was and is predestined for an exciting, sophisticated life, as many trendsetters love. Of course, Boris Becker also played a role in the fact that he did not have to pay taxes in Monaco. Therefore, it was easy for him to take the step and move from Germany to Monaco; He could afford it. The German treasury had thus lost out.

Well, Boris Becker probably thought like many who want to turn their backs on Germany for tax reasons. Because German tax law attaches unlimited tax liability to a residence in Germany, it is enough if you simply deregister it in this country and communicate a new address abroad to the residents' registration office. And it was precisely this logic that Boris Becker acted at that time.

In principle, this is also completely correct. According to § 1 EStG, unlimited tax liability in Germany actually expires if you give up residence in Germany, regardless of whether you subsequently move abroad or travel the world without a permanent residence as a perpetual traveler. But Boris Becker had overlooked an important point. Because it depends less on whether you live officially abroad after the registration at the residents' registration office and more on the fact that you really live this.

Because Boris Becker was apparently only partially ready to leave his old homeland completely. He must have missed too much the society of his social environment abroad, which remained in Germany. Despite his worldwide fame, he was not as popular in any other country as in Germany. No wonder he liked to be seen in Germany.

But he had gone so far that one day he probably decided to return secretly to Germany. He asked his sister for a favor. She should leave him her Munich attic apartment. Of course, he would then have free access to this accommodation at any time with his own key. Perhaps his sister was hardly aware of the magnitude of the potential tax consequences of such a favor when she granted him this wish. In any case, Boris Becker was thus back in Germany, because the apartment in Munich, for which he now had the so-called key power, was now his new residence in Germany.

So whether Boris Becker reported this new apartment to the residents' registration office or failed to do so, he was now again unrestrictedly taxable in Germany. So he would have had to tax all his income back in Germany. But did he also submit mandatory income tax returns for the relevant assessment periods from 1991 to 1993? Well, we know he failed. And it should also be clear that he still did not want to pay taxes in Germany. Then he would have had to pay the top tax rate.

Although it is usually disadvantageous if you do not submit a tax return, you are obliged to do so, because the tax administration can then estimate the income if necessary. In addition, in such a case, there are also considerable tax benefits such as late payments, late payments and interest. But this often does not constitute direct tax evasion. At least this is true as long as you pay these taxes. But if you conceal from the tax authorities that you are taxable at all, even though you have taxable income, then this certainly satisfies the fact of tax evasion. This is exactly what Boris Becker did.

When Boris Becker actually returned to Germany from abroad in 1993, he had often stated very low incomes in his tax returns. This caused the suspicion in the financial administration responsible for him that the information could be manipulated. For example, tournament prizes and advertising revenues went to a Dutch B.V. In return, he received a rather modest income from it.

Due to this suspicion, the financial administration carried out several house searches in the Becker case throughout Germany. However, this brought another element to the fore for the financial officials. From the documents received from the German Tennis Federation, it emerged that Boris Becker apparently stayed in Germany much more often than in Monaco. For many years a passionate collector had collected and bound from numerous newspapers and other media everything that was connected with the tennis legend made of glues. This list, together with other documents, travel and overnight documents, for example, documented almost exactly when Boris Becker stayed where and how long his stay lasted. From this, the handling financial officer concluded that Boris Becker apparently stayed more in Germany than abroad in the years 1991 to 1993.

So you had a clue of tax evasion that you could prosecute. The defenders have also put forward some good arguments as to why Boris Becker was more frequently present in Germany during the period in question, such as doctor visits. But there was the matter of the key. Because Boris Becker had access to his sister's attic apartment at any time with the apartment key. And if you have this so-called key power, you can also assign this apartment as a residence in the sense of tax law. It is also irrelevant whether this apartment is a luxury domicile or, as Boris Becker claims in his case, a spartanly furnished sidewalk.

The verdict was clear: Yes, Boris Becker had evaded taxes from 1991 to 1993 – in the millions. Under normal circumstances, tax evasion on such a scale would qualify for a custodial sentence. In fact, the prosecutor’s office demanded a three-year prison sentence. But since Boris Becker had already paid a large part of his due taxes before the court hearing and because the investigation against him had been so long and therefore burdensome, the sentence was much milder. Although Boris Becker received a prison sentence, it was pronounced against payment of a financial condition of DM 200,000 as a suspended sentence. In addition, Boris Becker had to pay a fine of DM 300,000. With a total penalty of DM 500,000 Boris Becker could actually resign himself, as this meant that he could continue to live in freedom, albeit on probation.