Attorney Elger-Günther standing at the defence table in her robe with an open case file.

Practice areas

Tax Criminal Law

A letter from the fine and criminal matters office or the tax investigation department at your door: tax criminal proceedings often begin abruptly. Building a tax criminal defense at this early stage, and coordinating it with the ongoing tax assessment process, is the task that shapes everything that follows.

section 370 AO

Scope of Practice

The core of tax criminal law is tax evasion according to section 370 of the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung, AO): incorrect or incomplete statements to the tax office or the breach of the duty to disclose tax-relevant facts. In particularly serious cases, such as large-scale evasion, a prison sentence of six months to ten years may be imposed.

The specific challenge: criminal proceedings and tax assessment proceedings run concurrently. In the criminal proceedings, you have the right to remain silent; in the tax assessment proceedings, duties of cooperation continue to exist. This tension is governed by section 393 AO. Those who are unaware of this may quickly make statements at the wrong time.

Our Services

We defend you against the fine and criminal matters office, the tax investigation department, and the public prosecution office, and we coordinate every statement with the tax aspect of the case. Your tax advisor knows the figures, and we lead the criminal defence: this division of labour has proven successful.

Representation immediately after the initiation of proceedings or a search by the tax investigation department
Access to files and verification of how investigators calculated the tax bases
Coordination of the criminal defence and the tax assessment proceedings to ensure statements do not contradict each other
Collaboration with your tax advisor or, if requested, with specialists we bring in
Assessing whether a voluntary disclosure (Selbstanzeige) is still an option and careful preparation if so

Voluntary Disclosure: Opportunity and Risk

Voluntary disclosure under section 371 AO can lead to immunity from prosecution, but it is subject to strict requirements. It must be complete and cover all non-time-barred tax offences of a specific tax type. It is barred if the offence has already been discovered, an audit order has been announced, or other grounds for exclusion under section 371 (2) AO exist. If the amount evaded exceeds 25,000 euros per offence, prosecution is only waived upon payment of an additional surcharge (section 398a AO).

An unsuccessful voluntary disclosure does not protect against punishment but provides the authorities with the evidence they need. Therefore, the rule is: first check and fully prepare, then submit. There is no guarantee of immunity, but there is professional diligence that reduces the risks to effectiveness.

Lawyer Virginia von Burgsdorff working at her desk on an open case file.

Arrested or questioned? Call us before you make a statement.

Frequently asked questions

The tax investigation department is at the door. How should I behave?

Request to see the search warrant, object to the measure, and do not provide any information regarding the case. Do not hand anything over voluntarily; instead, have documents formally seized. Call us while the search is still in progress.

Can I still gain immunity through a voluntary disclosure?

This depends on the individual case. The voluntary disclosure must be complete and must not be barred, for example by the discovery of the offence or a notified audit order. We will check whether this path is still open together with your tax advisor before anything is submitted to the tax office.

Do I have to continue to cooperate in the tax assessment proceedings even though I am under investigation?

Tax cooperation duties generally persist. However, they may not be enforced by coercive measures insofar as you would incriminate yourself (section 393 (1) AO). What you declare and what you do not should therefore be coordinated for both criminal and tax purposes.

When does tax evasion become time-barred?

The statute of limitations for criminal prosecution is generally five years; in particularly serious cases under section 370 (3) AO, it is fifteen years (section 376 AO). This is to be distinguished from the ten year tax assessment period for evasion: taxes can therefore still be assessed even if punishment is no longer possible.

This information is general in nature and does not replace advice on an individual case.

Guide