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AFAIK in Germany they can ask you to submit your banking history for tax purposes (for example they have doubts about your declaration), if you fail to submit i

AFAIK in Germany they can ask you to submit your banking history for tax purposes (for example they have doubts about your declaration), if you fail to submit it or refuse, they can go to the bank, but you are notified way before they go through the bank and if you comply with the request, they don't go to the bank at all. Also the request must be authorized by the state tax office, it's not like every government employee can request and obtain the list of all of your transactions.

DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
quick googling would show that your knowledge on this is dated (laws changed in mid 2000). See linked article[1] (or many other articles like it - it was a huge topic at the time creating much outrage). The bank will not be informed of the invasion of privacy (the excuse is so that banking customers don't have any negative impact when they realize customers get probed - it's probably more to avoid spooking the public about the frequency of how often this happens). > Also the request must be authorized by the state tax office, it's not like every government employee can request and obtain the list of all of your transactions. you're mistaken. These are the organs which have automated access (in addition to the IRS): - social services - job center - bailiff - state attorney - customs authorities it's designed to put pressure on low income groups in society, while the HNWI's and corporate big fish can cloak themselves with an armor of impenetrable offshore tools[2]. [1] in German (just run through any translate service): https://www.vlh.de/wissen-service/steuer-nachrichten/kontenabruf-durch-das-finanzamt.html https://www.vlh.de/wissen-service/steuer-nachrichten/kontena... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Islands:_Tax_Havens_and_the_Men_Who_Stole_the_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Islands:_Tax_Havens_a...
- merdadicapra 5y ago
  From the website in [1] The authority that requires the account access is responsible for the permissibility of data retrieval and data transmission. The BZSt only checks whether the application is plausible. So it's clear that the authority __has to__ require access, it's not granted automatically. The request has to be plausible (whatever that means, but it's still a limitation) The banks, on the other hand, are not allowed to find out anything that an account is being accessed. Therefore, an account retrieval does not lead to negative consequences for the bank customer. So the bank gains no further knowledge about you. Quoting the article you posted here: The account query only provides information about the banks with which someone has accounts or custody accounts. No information about the account balance or account movements is transmitted to the tax office. Since 2009, it has only been possible to access accounts in cases expressly determined by law, for example if it is absolutely necessary for the taxation procedure: IMPORTANT --> Before accessing the account, the person concerned is usually asked to clarify the matter himself IMPORTANT --> The master data is only called up if this request is unsuccessful which matches my previous response: AFAIK in Germany they can ask you to submit your banking history for tax purposes (for example they have doubts about your declaration), if you fail to submit it or refuse, they can go to the bank, but you are notified way before they go through the bank and if you comply with the request* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26818220 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26818220

DyslexicAtheist 5y ago

quick googling would show that your knowledge on this is dated (laws changed in mid 2000). See linked article[1] (or many other articles like it - it was a huge topic at the time creating much outrage). The bank will not be informed of the invasion of privacy (the excuse is so that banking customers don't have any negative impact when they realize customers get probed - it's probably more to avoid spooking the public about the frequency of how often this happens). > Also the request must be authorized by the state tax office, it's not like every government employee can request and obtain the list of all of your transactions. you're mistaken. These are the organs which have automated access (in addition to the IRS): - social services - job center - bailiff - state attorney - customs authorities it's designed to put pressure on low income groups in society, while the HNWI's and corporate big fish can cloak themselves with an armor of impenetrable offshore tools[2]. [1] in German (just run through any translate service): https://www.vlh.de/wissen-service/steuer-nachrichten/kontenabruf-durch-das-finanzamt.html https://www.vlh.de/wissen-service/steuer-nachrichten/kontena... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Islands:_Tax_Havens_and_the_Men_Who_Stole_the_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Islands:_Tax_Havens_a...

merdadicapra 5y ago
From the website in [1] The authority that requires the account access is responsible for the permissibility of data retrieval and data transmission. The BZSt only checks whether the application is plausible. So it's clear that the authority __has to__ require access, it's not granted automatically. The request has to be plausible (whatever that means, but it's still a limitation) The banks, on the other hand, are not allowed to find out anything that an account is being accessed. Therefore, an account retrieval does not lead to negative consequences for the bank customer. So the bank gains no further knowledge about you. Quoting the article you posted here: The account query only provides information about the banks with which someone has accounts or custody accounts. No information about the account balance or account movements is transmitted to the tax office. Since 2009, it has only been possible to access accounts in cases expressly determined by law, for example if it is absolutely necessary for the taxation procedure: IMPORTANT --> Before accessing the account, the person concerned is usually asked to clarify the matter himself IMPORTANT --> The master data is only called up if this request is unsuccessful which matches my previous response: AFAIK in Germany they can ask you to submit your banking history for tax purposes (for example they have doubts about your declaration), if you fail to submit it or refuse, they can go to the bank, but you are notified way before they go through the bank and if you comply with the request* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26818220 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26818220