Criminal tax law
Our colleagues are available round the clock to assist you with matters relating to commercial and criminal tax law.
Key areas of our consulting services include:
- Defence in criminal tax proceedings
- Representation before tax authorities and the public prosecutor’s office
- Drafting and supporting voluntary disclosures to avoid criminal liability
- Support during tax audits involving criminal tax law risks
- Advice on searches of residential and business premises, seizures and other enforcement measures
- Development and implementation of tax compliance management systems
Questions raised by our clients include:
- Am I at risk of a criminal investigation, or has one already been launched?
- What risks might arise from a tax audit, and how should I respond?
- What documents should I prepare or provide?
- How should I behave if I receive a summons or if my premises are searched?
- Is it still possible and advisable to make a voluntary disclosure?
- How do criminal tax proceedings work and how long might they take?
- What are the chances of resolving the matter out of court?
- What specific criminal law consequences can I expect?
- What personal risks do I face as a managing director or board member?
- How can I identify and minimise criminal tax law risks for my company at an early stage in future?
If you are facing a tax audit or are facing criminal tax charges, we are here to support you with our many years of experience. We will assist you in carefully reviewing and systematically documenting past events in order to refute any allegations on a sound basis. Many of our solicitors are also qualified tax advisers. Our interdisciplinary expertise, combined with extensive experience in procedural law, enables us to represent your interests effectively and assertively, both during preliminary investigations and in court.
As part of a ‘first line of defence’, we also advise you on the implementation of tax compliance management systems. The initiation of criminal tax proceedings does not necessarily require a deliberate misrepresentation of tax-relevant facts, but may also result from the subsequent discovery of facts that were inadvertently misrepresented. This can result in the responsible corporate bodies being faced with allegations of tax evasion. In order to reduce the risk of incorrect tax returns at an early stage and to demonstrate a commitment to tax compliance, preventive measures and processes can be put in place within the company. An effectively implemented tax compliance management system helps to minimise sources of error and can serve as exculpatory evidence in the context of criminal tax law.
