Tax criminal law is currently the fastest developing legal matters in Germany.
This is reflected, on the one hand, through the wide presence of the topic in the media and, on the other hand, in changes in the legal situation, such as the new self-disclosure right.
Those affected by tax criminal investigations must be aware that such offences are no longer regarded as “trivial offences”. This is shown, for example, by the fact that tax evasion in particularly serious cases is now punishable by imprisonment of up to ten years, which means that the original sentence of up to five years has been doubled.
Incidentally, we are repeatedly struck by how surprised the clients are by the consistent actions of the investigating authorities when they first try to defend themselves against the tax criminal charges.
We can therefore recommend that you receive timely advice on the legal situation. After all, in criminal law penalties always include tax arrears, which can often be very substantial and threaten the existence of the affected.