A citizen’s advocacy group is advocating for a significantly more automated tax filing process for employed individuals. Anne Brorhilker, Managing Director of “Bürgerbewegung Finanzwende” (Citizens’ Movement for Financial Change) and a former public prosecutor, described the move – prompted by a proposal from the German Tax Employees’ Union – as a mutually beneficial step. She argues it would both alleviate the burden on citizens and free up resources within tax authorities.
Brorhilker suggests that streamlining the process would allow personnel to focus on more complex tasks, redirecting them from what she termed “trivial matters”. This call comes amidst acknowledged staffing shortages across multiple critical public sectors – including the judiciary, police and tax investigation units – as well as within corporate auditing departments.
As a short-term solution to address resource limitations, Brorhilker proposes temporarily reassigning federal auditors to individual states, with a specific focus on combating tax evasion within the financial industry.
Beyond staffing concerns, Brorhilker highlighted deficiencies in the enforcement of tax laws, citing outdated technology and a lack of a unified IT infrastructure across the federal and state levels. This fragmented system, she contends, hinders effective information sharing between agencies and creates a perceived low risk of detection for potential offenders.
