Finance Ministry: Top official is said to have offered super-rich tips on how to avoid taxes

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Top civil servant criticized
“Toolbox” with tax tips for the super-rich? Ministry of Finance draws conclusions

The Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin

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A stir after a ZDF documentary: A head of department at the Federal Ministry of Finance is said to have given super-rich people information about tax avoidance at an event. The authority is now drawing conclusions.

The The Federal Ministry of Finance is reviewing its rules of conduct for secondary employment of civil servants. The background is the ZDF documentary “The Secret World of the Super Rich – The Billionaire Game”, which reports, among other things, on a high-ranking civil servant who is said to have taken part as a speaker at an event where tips on avoiding taxes were presented. A spokeswoman explained on Tuesday that she was a long-time head of department at the Ministry of Finance. “Possible legal consequences are currently being examined.” In addition, Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) commissioned a review of the rules of conduct.

The spokeswoman explained that secondary activities must be reported to the ministry as an employer and in many cases also require approval. There are limits on time and compensation.

Official is said to have offered the super-rich a “toolbox” for tax avoidance

According to ZDF research, the official spoke at the event, among other things, about highly current reform plans that could make tax avoidance more difficult. She told the tax experts that they could “reassure” her clients. In the documentation she is quoted as follows: “We have toolboxes, at least I have a lot of them. I’m 100 percent sure that you can sleep peacefully. It can’t be that the income suddenly starts flowing on January 1st “I see all the finance ministers with little money in their eyes like Scrooge McDuck, that can’t be right. You can reassure your clients.”

The Greens and the SPD are demanding consequences for the top civil servant and effective rules of conduct; the Green budget politician Bruno Hönel called for her expulsion in the “Tagesspiegel”.

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