2024-08-21 22:53:07
In view of massive tax evasion, the German Tax Union is calling for cashless payments to be made mandatory. This should primarily affect sectors with high cash payments.
In view of massive tax evasion, the German Tax Union (DSTG) has called for businesses to be obliged to offer cashless payment methods. “That would be a big step towards more tax honesty in our country,” said DSTG Federal Chairman Florian Köbler to the newspapers of the Funke Media Group on Tuesday. The obligation should apply to companies with an annual turnover of 25,000 euros or more.
The German Tax Union estimates that in industries with a lot of cash payments, tens of billions of euros in taxes are being evaded. Köbler is therefore calling for a change in strategy by the tax authorities. The resources of the tax investigators must be used more effectively, especially in those companies where payments are mainly made in cash, Köbler continued.
For example, a sensible digital risk analysis by the tax office is necessary. “Primarily the cases in which there are irregularities in the risk system will then be examined more closely.” This would enable the tax offices to concentrate on cases in which fraud is actually taking place.
The so-called cash sector includes hair salons, bakeries, butchers, retail companies, car dealerships, ice cream parlors and restaurants. According to Köbler, the risk of tax fraud being discovered in these companies is still too low. On average, a small business owner is only audited once every 80 years.
The damage is correspondingly high, said the DSTG boss. “We estimate that 16 billion euros in taxes are being evaded directly in the cash-intensive sectors. The overall economic damage, including, for example, unpaid pension and social security contributions and various types of taxes, is likely to be around 70 billion euros per year.”
In contrast, the potential for tax fraud among employees and pensioners is significantly lower, said Köbler. Tax offices should therefore not get lost in the minutiae.