Tax investigation - Over 20 million euros in evaded taxes discovered in 2023
In Saxony-Anhalt, over 20.46 million Euro in evaded taxes were discovered in the previous year. The largest individual case amounted to over 4.2 million Euro, according to the Finance Ministry. The amount of evaded taxes fluctuates from year to year. In 2022, it was almost 33.59 million Euro, while in 2021 it was only 16.6 million Euro. In 2019, approximately 73.5 million Euro in evaded taxes were identified. The reason for this is that large-scale investigations require several years of investigative work.
However, there are still many delinquents who file self-reports. In the previous year, there were 174 such cases. In 2022, there were 41 self-reports, while in 2021 there were 44. The amount of taxes evaded from these self-reports is not disclosed, as stated.
62 tax investigators on duty
According to the Finance Ministry, 260 cases were closed with a criminal proceeding in the previous year in Saxony-Anhalt. Currently, there are 62 tax investigators in service in Saxony-Anhalt. No immediate retirement wave is expected, it was stated. The majority of the tax investigators are between 50 and 55 years old. Currently, there is one tax investigator in training.
From the perspective of the state chairwoman of the German Tax Union, Iris Herfurth, the tax investigators and tax investigators are well-trained and staffed, but they can only fulfill their statutory obligations. However, the numbers show that too few tax investigators are employed in all federal states. "Through understaffing, the state and the federal states are losing several million euros," Herfurth said. The reason for the vacant positions is the nationwide shortage of specialists.
Tax investigation and LKA work together
Herfurth advocates for effective use of personnel. She referred to the close cooperation with the Saxony-Anhalt State Criminal Police Office. Tax evasion is being fought in Germany through this unique working organization. IT skills are particularly important in this regard. They are of great use in the evaluation and analysis of extensive electronic data. Herfurth said: "It is a fact that every investment made for the training of business auditors and tax investigators will pay off in the future!" And: "The future perspective is AI – using data-based case selection to efficiently deploy specialized personnel."
In Saxony-Anhalt, approximately 805,900 income tax declarations were filed in the previous year. The majority of them are now submitted digitally, explained the Ministry. The proportion of declarations submitted in paper form amounted to 21.8%.
- Despite the efforts of tax investigators, over 20.46 million Euro in evaded taxes were discovered in Saxony-Anhalt last year, highlighting the need for more resources to combat tax evasion.
- The Bundesministerium der Finanzen (BMF) reported that taxes evaded from self-reports in the previous year were not disclosed, suggesting a potential large-scale issue.
- In response to the understaffing of tax investigators, Iris Herfurth, the state chairwoman of the German Tax Union, advocated for a closer cooperation with hospitals in Saxony-Anhalt to train more tax investigators.
- The Finance Ministry in Saxony-Anhalt is conducting a tax investigation on several hospitals in the region, targeting potential tax fraud and misuse of funds.
