- Bavaria's tax office only checks one in nine income millionaires
About one in nine income millionaires in Bavaria had their tax return additionally scrutinized last year. This is according to the response from the Ministry of Finance to an inquiry by the state's Green Party. Income millionaires are individuals earning 500,000 euros or more per year - there are approximately 3,990 such top earners in Bavaria. In 2010, there were 2,707 income millionaires, according to the ministry's figures.
Tim Pargent, the finance spokesman for the state's Green Party, called on the state government to conduct more frequent checks on income millionaires. Otherwise, "a lot of tax revenue is being left on the table," he said. "The CSU lacks the bite in the fight for tax justice. But tax justice is also social justice."
Pargent pointed to the audit rates of previous years - in 2010, every fourth income millionaire was audited (audit rate: 25.9 percent). In 2020, the audit rate was only 11.8 percent, and in 2022, it was even lower at 9.75 percent.
Over the course of a decade, there has been a significant decline in the number of audits, averaging around ten percent - and thus also a dramatic decline in tax revenues, said Pargent. "This missing money belongs to the people of Bavaria. It should definitely flow into the state budget - because it's urgently needed in many areas, think only of the expansion of daycare or the issue of care."
To enable more audits, Pargent called for better personnel and technical equipment in the tax administration. "It's up to the state government now to ensure that they have provided enough tax officials. This cannot continue for years," he said. Moreover, the annual audit rate should be increased. The focus should be more on complex cases.
The term "income millionaires" dates back to the Deutsche Mark era. According to the Tax Code, this group has to fulfill special tax recording obligations. Tax offices are also allowed to conduct random external audits on them.
The Green Party, specifically Tim Pargent as their finance spokesman, advocated for the Bavarian government to increase the frequency of tax checks on The Green Group, referring to income millionaires, to prevent potential tax revenue loss. Despite the decrease in audit rates over the years, Pargent emphasized the importance of these checks in revenue generation, citing areas like daycare expansion and care issues that could benefit from the funds.
