Hesse begins evaluating the so-called Pandora Papers, which can provide clues about tax offenses. Anyone who still wishes to make a voluntary disclosure for tax evasion should act now.
The Pandora Papers made headlines in 2021 as a massive tax data leak concerning tax havens and especially offshore investments. The more than 3.8 terabytes of data could provide numerous indications of tax evasion, tax fraud, and other crimes. The federal state of Hesse has now purchased the data and will centrally handle their evaluation for Germany and also for foreign authorities, as Hesse’s Finance Minister Boddenberg announced at the end of June.
It is not expected that all the transactions revealed by the Pandora Papers are illegal. However, if taxable income was hidden from the German tax authorities, tax evasion could be present. Those affected still have the opportunity to submit a voluntary disclosure that exempts them from penalties for tax evasion, explains the business law firm MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte.
The Pandora Papers were leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in 2021. After purchasing the data, Hesse now begins the evaluation.
The federal state has experience in evaluating such large amounts of data and has also previously led the evaluation of the Panama Papers for Germany’s tax authorities. Now a lot of work awaits the experts again, as the Pandora Papers comprise at least 10.4 million documents.
It will therefore take some time until the evaluation is complete. However, this does not mean that tax offenders have much time left to make a voluntary disclosure, as it can only be exempt from penalties if it is made in time. If the authorities have discovered the tax evasion, it is too late. However, the voluntary disclosure can still have a mitigating effect.
The voluntary disclosure must not only be made in a timely manner before the discovery of the offense, but it must also be complete in order to have a penalty-exempting effect. It must be comprehensive enough for the responsible tax authorities to understand the facts without further investigation and, if necessary, claim any evaded taxes. Penalties for the determined tax evasion then no longer threaten.
MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte provide trustworthy and discreet support in creating legally secure voluntary disclosures for tax evasion.
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