You may already be thinking when reading the headline: “Serious? Amusement tax?” in fact, there is a levy with this name in all federal states of Germany. It is levied on “special pleasures”, such as tickets, gambling at the machine and – who would have thought it – sexual services. Colloquially, it is therefore also called “prostitution tax”, but actually includes other forms of entertainment.
The collection of an amusement tax is the responsibility of the countries according to Article 105 paragraph 2a GG. It is a local expense tax, which can be charged accordingly by cities and municipalities. Therefore, the municipal tax laws of the Länder contain a corresponding authorization basis for the individual cities and municipalities. In North Rhine-Westphalia this can be found, for example, in § 3 (1) sentence 1 KAG NRW. The respective taxes are subject to the corresponding Tax Code (AO), which is actually only applicable to taxes administered under federal and state law.
Thus, for example, the non-payment of the pleasure tax can also constitute a punishable tax evasion within the meaning of § 17 KAG NRW. The penalty range is up to two years of liberty or fine.
Exceptions are the city states of Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen. Here, the collection of a pleasure tax is regulated in the immediate state laws. The tax is therefore not a municipality, but directly the country.
This article does not replace tax or legal advice in an individual case. Facts, current law, jurisdiction, documentation and implementation remain decisive.