Overview
- Finance minister Lars Klingbeil and justice minister Stefanie Hubig presented the 26‑point Aktionsplan on Thursday, July 16, calling for faster detection, prosecution and greater deterrence of tax and financial crime.
- The plan raises the maximum prison term for organised tax crime from 10 to 15 years, removes the current form of self‑reporting immunity and seeks to reclassify serious tax evasion as a felony with a one‑year minimum sentence.
- Operational changes include creating a Gemeinsames Zentrum at the Zoll, adding 1,500 Zoll posts, a new AI‑enabled data analysis centre and wider powers to seize and trace suspect assets for up to 180 days.
- Businesses would face longer recordkeeping and reporting rules, with accounting retention extended to 15 years, a registrierkassen requirement for firms over €100,000 turnover and a planned electronic VAT reporting system, while the government projects at least €1 billion extra in 2027 but says overall yields are uncertain.
- The plan won praise from investigators for addressing structural gaps but drew sharp criticism from several Länder, notably Bavaria over a proposed public register, and faces unresolved legal, federal‑competence and privacy questions as draft laws are prepared for cabinet submission.