Obligation to provide advice from the tax office in general and in particular

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For a long time, the tax office was regarded as an authority that primarily requests tax returns, sets taxes and collects taxes. Modern financial management also sees itself as a service provider who informs you as a taxpayer, gives you information and advises you. How far does the obligation to provide advice go, does the authority have to help you save on taxes?

That Tax office is an authority whose tasks are diverse. Issuing tax notices and collecting taxes are just two of them.

Is there an obligation to advise the tax authorities?

The financial administration is a public authority, you can reach your tax office by phone, online and of course directly during a visit.

  • If your administration is a real service provider, it will provide you as a taxpayer with special service offers. In many municipalities you can use an information and collection point for your tax matters.
  • The advantage of this is that you can deal with your concerns in a department without taking any responsibilities into account. You will receive information on your tax matters. An extra appointment or visit with the responsible tax office clerk is not required.
  • You can submit tax returns to the tax office responsible for you. The submitted documents are checked for completeness on site. Questions about your tax matters will be answered. If necessary, you will receive instructions for filling out forms and documents.
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  • You can find out directly on site which advice is available from the financial administration responsible for you. The website of the tax authorities can also provide you with a lot of information.
  • The employees of the tax administration are obliged to provide general information on tax and tax procedural issues. You will receive all relevant information as part of the general obligation to provide advice.

The tax office is not a tax consultancy

As a taxpayer, you ask yourself whether the tax authorities must point out favorable circumstances to you as part of the tax assessment procedure. It can happen that you missed it.

  • After all, the tax office has a certain duty of care towards every taxpayer. There are some relevant regulations in the tax code (ยง 89 AO). An explicit duty of suggestion on the part of the tax office is mentioned.
  • Suggestions should be made when declarations are made or when proposals are made it is very likely that they were submitted incorrectly by mistake or out of ignorance.
  • However, you should not assume, as is often the case in public, that tax offices have the general task of providing you as a taxpayer with comprehensive advice. Comprehensive advice would ideally replace the tax advisory professions. The legislature has determined that detailed tax advice is incumbent on members of the tax advisory professions (tax advisors, tax agents, lawyers).
  • Their comprehensive advice has its price, but also some advantages that should not be underestimated. On the one hand, tax advisors have to address tax opportunities and risks and, on the other hand, they have to show you the safest way to achieve the desired tax savings.
  • Overall, it is difficult to say how the tax office will fulfill its duty of care in individual cases. It depends on the circumstances and the actual peculiarities of the respective facts. In any case, the tax office should fully comply with its duty to advise if it is obvious that you made a mistake.

You should bear in mind that the financial administration is subject to official liability, but in the event of incorrect advice and assertion, you also bear the burden of proof. In any case, you are better protected with a written document than with an oral agreement.

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