In Baden-Württemberg they want to find out about tax fraudsters with an online platform that collects anonymous information from the population. That creates trouble.
At the beginning of the week, an anonymous whistleblower portal was activated in Baden-Württemberg in order to better identify tax evaders. A reporting platform should offer whistleblowers “a secure and anonymous communication channel” to report violations, according to the finance ministry headed by the Greens.
“New dimension of denunciation”
However, this nationwide first online reporting platform has met with some fierce criticism. The FDP state chairman Michael Theurer speaks according to the “Bildzeitung” of a “completely new dimension of denunciation”. This kind of “block guardianship” is changing society for the worse. The deputy federal chairman of the FDP, Wolfgang Kubicki, told the “Bild”, “This portal shows what threatens us if the Greens put their moral ideas above law and order and pour them into state action – and the CDU does not oppose this.”
The CDU, the coalition partner of Baden-Württemberg, is also criticizing the platform: “Once again the Greens are showing their true colors,” said Thorsten Frei, Vice President of the CDU. With the tax pillory, a general suspicion will be extended to every hardworking and tax-paying citizen.
The Baden-Württemberg AfD parliamentary group leader Bernd Gögel also sharply criticized the online platform. “The Minister’s plans create a climate of mistrust,” explained Gögel. It is now curious whether the CDU, as a coalition partner, can come up with “more than just campaign rhetoric” – or whether it would once more prefer to buckle.
Verdi: Land also has to provide more staff
For the service union Verdi, the anonymous whistleblower portal only makes sense if more staff is made available to process the additional advertisements. “Otherwise there is a lot of ado about nothing,” explained Martin Gross, Regional District Manager of Verdi in Baden-Württemberg. In his opinion, additional tax auditors would really help tax justice. Because, according to Gross, tax fraud should better be pursued with professional staff than with vague advertisements from the neighborhood.
Anonymous reports have also been possible so far
The Baden-Württemberg Finance Minister Danyal Bayaz (Greens) rejected the allegations. So far, and in other federal states too, there has been the possibility of giving anonymous information on tax offenses – by telephone, in writing, in person or by e-mail, but not digitally. Often essential information was missing and due to the anonymity no further inquiries were possible. According to the state government, the tax administration can communicate anonymously with whistleblowers via the new portal. Bayaz went on to say that the new platform is driving digitization forward and facilitating easy communication between the tax administration and citizens.
“In this way we can better pursue tax fraud and ensure more tax justice.”
Suspicion must be specifically substantiated
The Baden-Wuerttemberg Ministry of Finance also points out that, in principle, every anonymous information must be justified, otherwise it will not be investigated in the first place. A spokesman for the ministry told the SWR: it is not enough to refer to the gardener or the cleaning lady of the neighbors because you might suspect that people are working illegally here. A suspicion must be specifically substantiated, otherwise the tip ends up in the trash. In the Ministry of Finance it is said that with the help of such information it is hoped that people who are evading taxes on a large scale can be tracked down. According to estimates, the tax offices nationwide lose 50 billion euros a year through tax fraud.
Habeck: Protect whistleblowers
The finance minister of Baden-Württemberg is backed by the chairman of the Federal Green Party, Robert Habeck. He sees the portal as an opportunity to protect tipsters. Tax fraud is not a trivial offense, said Habeck of the German press agency. Those who evade taxes mock the honesty of all those citizens who honestly pay their taxes. “And of course, in order to fight economic and financial crime, you also have to protect whistleblowers, that’s obvious,” said the Greens leader.