As a specialized law firm for criminal law and tax law, we represent companies, self-employed individuals, and private persons nationwide in all areas of tax criminal law. Whether tax evasion, tax receiving, or smuggling: our experienced defense attorneys stand by your side in every phase of the investigation and criminal proceedings with legal precision and strategic insight.
With a clear strategy, tax law expertise, and years of experience, we advocate for your interests – in person in Göttingen, Kassel, or Hanover, or flexibly and nationwide via video consultation.
What is Tax Criminal Law?
Tax criminal law encompasses all provisions that criminalize violations of tax obligations. The central criminal offenses are:
| Criminal Offense | Legal Basis | Typical Affected Parties |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Evasion | § 370 Fiscal Code (AO) | Private individuals, entrepreneurs |
| Smuggling (commercial, violent, or organized) | § 373 AO | Importers, logistics companies |
| Tax Receiving | § 374 AO | Third-party beneficiaries |
| Breach of Embargo | § 372 AO | Traders, import/export companies |
The most common charge in tax criminal law is tax evasion under § 370 AO. Tax evasion occurs when someone intentionally reduces their tax liability or obtains benefits through false statements or omissions to the tax authorities.
Why is Tax Criminal Law So Complex?
In tax criminal law, two areas of law intersect:
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- the Fiscal Code (AO) for tax proceedings
- the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) for criminal proceedings
This overlap creates significant tensions, e.g., between the right to remain silent in criminal law and the duty to cooperate in tax law. This makes a strategically considered defense particularly important.
Tax Criminal Law: Risks You Should Know
A tax criminal proceeding can have profound effects on your professional and private life:
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- Imprisonment: In particularly serious cases, a non-suspended prison sentence is possible.
- Asset Forfeiture: The state can confiscate tax-related financial advantages – often to a considerable extent.
- Reputational Damage: High-profile investigations or proceedings can result in significant professional disadvantages.
- Professional Consequences: For tax advisors, managing directors, physicians, or attorneys, even an investigation can be career-threatening.
- Exclusion from Public Contracts: Particularly for companies, this can have serious economic consequences.
Early, discreet, and specialized defense is therefore crucial.
Why You Need Specialized Criminal Defense Now
A tax criminal proceeding differs fundamentally from a conventional criminal trial. It requires:
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- extensive knowledge in tax and criminal law
- solid understanding of complex tax processes and accounting procedures
- experience in dealing with investigative authorities, tax offices, and tax investigation units
- strategic approach regarding file inspection and defense options
The line between a simple error in a tax return and criminal tax evasion is often crossed unnoticed, and investigations with significant financial and personal risks can quickly ensue. Investigative authorities frequently presume intentional conduct, even when it is not present.
Early consultation with a specialized attorney is therefore crucial – both preventively, to avoid tax criminal conflicts, and defensively in ongoing proceedings. We often work closely with your existing tax advisors to enable coordinated and effective defense.
What We Do for You – Your Individual Defense Strategy
We develop an individual defense strategy for each case. Depending on the initial situation, we examine both the legal and tax aspects of the case and pursue the best possible outcome for you. Our goal is always:
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- Dismissal of proceedings (e.g., for lack of sufficient evidence pursuant to § 170 para. 2 StPO)
- Avoidance of a trial (e.g., through communication with investigative authorities or penalty order)
- Mitigation of penalties or avoidance of an entry in the criminal record
We also pay particular attention to avoiding collateral consequences such as:
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- Managing director disqualification (§ 6 GmbHG)
- Professional bans and reputational damage
- Entries in the corruption register
Typical Cases in Tax Criminal Law
In practice, certain situations particularly often lead to investigations. These include:
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- Tax evasion in a corporate context
- Violations involving foreign accounts or cryptocurrency trading
- Incorrect or incomplete VAT advance returns
- Conflicts during tax audits and tax investigations
- Defective arrangements in estate succession
Typical Clients in Tax Criminal Law
We represent you discreetly and competently – regardless of background:
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- Self-employed individuals and entrepreneurs
- Managing directors and board members
- Tax advisors and accountants
- Investors and asset managers
- Private individuals with foreign accounts or cryptocurrencies
Key Points
Frequently Asked Questions from Our Clients About Tax Criminal Law
False or incomplete information in a tax return or the omission of disclosures to the tax authorities, with the aim of reducing the tax burden.
When suspicion of tax evasion becomes known – for example, through a tax audit, control notification, report, or data comparison – the tax office generally initiates criminal proceedings. In many cases, the tax investigation unit takes over the investigation. Possible measures include:
- File inspection by the fines and criminal matters department (BuStra)
- Searches of businesses or private residences
- Seizure of documents and IT equipment
- Interrogations or interviews
- Coordination with the public prosecutor’s office
Important: Even during the investigation stage, measures can be initiated that cause significant economic and personal harm. This makes it all the more crucial to seek legal counsel early to influence the proceedings and prevent escalation.
In the case of a criminal accusation in tax law, specialized defense is crucial. Ensure that your attorney:
- is thoroughly trained in both criminal law and tax law,
- has practical experience with tax investigation units, tax offices, and public prosecutors,
- knows and can realistically assess the options for voluntary disclosure or dismissal of proceedings.
Our firm combines precisely this expertise: specialists in criminal law and tax law, as well as certified advisors for tax criminal law (DAA) combined with years of experience in defending complex tax criminal proceedings. We advise you discreetly, proactively, and with a clear goal: to prevent damage – before it occurs.
Seek legal assistance immediately. In many cases, a voluntary disclosure can still have an exculpatory effect.
The German Specialist Lawyers’ Regulations (Fachanwaltsordnung) do not provide for a separate specialist title in tax criminal law. Tax criminal proceedings lie at the intersection of criminal law and tax law and therefore require particular expertise in both fields.
Those searching for a specialist lawyer for tax criminal law typically require both criminal defence and tax law advice. Our firm combines specialist lawyers in criminal law and specialist lawyers in tax law, as well as certified advisors in tax criminal law, thereby offering the dual qualification necessary for an effective defence in tax criminal proceedings.
Your Contact for Tax Criminal Law Nationwide
We offer you competent, individually tailored defense with the highest expertise in tax criminal law. We defend and advise throughout Germany.