GRP Rainer LLP

Federal Supreme Court Judgment Makes Things Harder for Tax Evaders

Financial criminal offenses may occur more readily and more frequently than most people expect. In a recent decision, the BGH seems to have tightened its jurisdiction on tax misdeeds.

 

Cologne, NRW -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/11/2013 -- GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London http://www.grprainer.com/en conclude: In severe cases, a suspended sentence could even be excluded. The German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) in its judgment ruling issued on 07 February 2012 (Ref. 1 StR 525/11) overruled a decision of the Augsburg Regional Court due to legal errors in the sentence. The regional court had convicted the suspected person to only a two-year suspended sentence, although it seemed to be a severe case of tax evasion amounting to millions. The case was then remanded by the German Federal Supreme Court for a new trial and decision to another trial chamber of the previous court.

In the case of evasion amounting to very high amounts, maybe even in the millions, exceptional consideration can only be made for a custodial sentence if there are considerable mitigating conditions. Because of this, a suspended sentence is usually not in principle assignable to the level of crime of tax evasion which amounts to millions.

An attorney can attend those affected with a criminal charge while preparing a legal appraisal of individual cases and take clients under advisement in regards to issues of maintaining legal compliance. To prevent problems with tax authorities it is advisable to rely on the work of an attorney with experience in business law, tax law and criminal law. Such an attorney can provide information on current court decisions.

Furthermore, an attorney can make certain that clients are informed in regards to the rulings of the supreme court and prepare highly complex criminal cases in an understandable form so that opportunities remain open to all interested parties with regard to the criminal proceedings that follow and prepare legal appraisals of individual cases in relation to criminal law.

About GRP Rainer LLP
GRP Rainer LLP http://www.grprainer.com/en/ is an international firm of lawyers and tax advisors who are specialists in commercial law. The firm counsels commercial and industrial companies and corporations, as well as associations, small- and mid-sized businesses, self-employed freelancers and private individuals worldwide from offices Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich, Stuttgart, Bremen, Nuremberg and London UK.
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