The fact of tax evasion is one of the most important and practically relevant in German criminal tax law. In 2021, for example – according to the BMF monthly report for October 2022 – a total of 50,000 criminal proceedings were processed nationwide. The tax offices have set excess taxes of more than EUR 1,200,000,000 (1.2 billion). We take a closer look at the facts of tax evasion, its objective characteristics, various forms of commission and here in particular the distinction between doing, tolerating and refraining from doing. The provisions of the Penal Code (StGB) are also inseparably connected with § 370 AO.
In the eighth part of the tax code, specifically in §§ 369 to 376 AO, the most important penal provisions for the taxation procedure can be found. With § 370 AO, the legislature regulates the offence of tax evasion. Even before examining the standard, § 1 StGB must be observed; An offence can therefore only be punished if the criminality was expressly regulated in a law at the corresponding time.
Tax evasion is assumed according to § 370 (1) AO if a taxpayer
This article does not replace tax or legal advice in an individual case. Facts, current law, jurisdiction, documentation and implementation remain decisive.