The Deutsche Steuer-Gewerkschaft (DSTG) has strongly criticized the planned easing of receipt obligations proposed by Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil.
Although Florian Köbler, the DSTG’s national chairman, supports the modernization of billing processes and insisted that replacing paper receipts with digital ones is long overdue, he cautioned against weakening existing control instruments without simultaneously strengthening requirements for cash registers.
Köbler’s primary critique focused on the timeline of the proposed plans. He argued that the sequence was flawed: easing controls first while delaying mandatory cash register usage until 2027 was unacceptable. In his words, this amounted to “sending the watchman home and then contemplating the door.” He warned that whoever eases restrictions first and enforces controls later would be inviting fraudsters.
The DSTG head expressed alarm over a potential increase in tax evasion within the cash-handling sector. He contrasted honest employees who deduct income tax on every cent of salary with cash transactions that continue to slip unnoticed into the tills. “The state must not enlarge exactly this loophole. Honest businesses deserve protection, not cheat-ers,” Köbler stated.
According to the union’s view, any relaxation of receipt rules must be linked directly to a compulsory nationwide requirement for manipulation-proof cash registers. “If the relaxation happens, it must only be step by step with a widespread, anti-tampering cash register obligation,” demanded Köbler. Furthermore, he found the planned turnover threshold of 100,000 Euros to be too high, noting that Austria has implemented stricter measures since 2016. He concluded that Germany needed to tighten, not loosen, regulations.
