Does a tax consultant act in your best interests

Hi,

If you go to a tax consultant and pay to get your taxes done, do they "work" for you or the government? The reason I ask, is that I went to a tax company, and they did my taxes and indicated I would owe the government around 1,500 Euros. He told me to sign and file the tax form, and when the assessment came back from the government to come and see him. He would then look it over. The government said I owed only 35 Euros, so I thought that this was great. I went to the accountant on January 8, and he said that the government office must have made a mistake. He said that they most likely did not understand the additional Canadian income we had.

I paid the 35 Euros on January 9, and today, January 25, I received a new tax bill stating that I now owe around 1,500 Euros. The amount is within one Euro of what the accountant said I would owe. Is it likely that the accountant would phone the government and tell them he did not agree with their calculation, and that his higher amount is the amount that I should pay? I just find it a bit suspicious that the government would redo the assessment after sending me the first 35 Euro bill. I just wonder if the accountant could challenge them on the amount, even though it would not be in my best interest. If this is the case, I am annoyed that I paid this guy almost 300 Euros, and he does not really represent my interest.

Thanks,

Ken

who is your tax consultant?

Drop him.. and goto HILO and plug your PLZ in to Locate the nearest office to you.
Pay the membership fee (Per year, price based on Income) usually around 130 Eur. Have them look it over
and see if they agree with the 1st guy. My ? is why even tell the Germans about $ you have back in Canada..
It's not In Eur. and is not in a German Bank account.. me thinks the Govt. might be writing you a check instead...

Make sure to declare deductions for things like, Transport tickets, phone and Internet bills and Books (Training) used for work.
I'm Sure HILO will tell you what other things can be declared..

A tax consultant is supposed to work in YOUR fav. not to the Govt. This is why you Pay them $$ to do your return..
When you goto HILO, have them send a letter to the Financeamt asking for an ext. due to poss. incorrect work by
the 1st guy.. (Contesting the Return until a 2nd opinion is given)

The tax guy is in Erding. I can not say for sure that he challenged the amount, but I thought it was quite a coincidence that the tax was redone.

Pay the $$ Get a 2nd Opinion... Don't mention $ in Canadian Accounts if you can get away with it..
Only work with your GERMAN income (Eur)

Since your in Erding (Or close to it) here's the Info For the Erding Office:

Lohnsteuerhilfeverein HILO e.V.
Beratungsstelle 01 1010
Münchener Str. 46
85435 Erding

Arnulf Huber
Tel. 08122/15486
Fax. 08122/54938
eMail: arnulf.huber@hilo-muenchen.de

We did not actually tell the German government. My wife and I took money out of our Canadian retirement fund in 2004. The Canadian government charged us 25% tax. I looked at the Canadian government web site, and they indicate that there is a German / Canadian tax treaty, and the amount withdrawn from the Canadian fund is not taxable in Germany, so I did not notify the German government. In November last year, I received a letter from the Freising tax office saying I needed to redo my 2004 income tax since I had foreign income. I am guessing the Canadian government notified the German government about the retirement fund withdrawal.

Sounds like Double Taxation.. Don't think they can do that.. But maybe they can.. Get the 2nd opinion.
Another reason to keep Foreign $ in Foreign Accounts, and not bring it into the country where you live.

They won't be able to double tax you, but if you had overseas income it can raise the tax bracket you are in. Last year I earned money in Australia for the first 6 months, then started working here. Instead of earning my first few thousand tax free, I started paying 25% (or whatever, I don't know the rate) on the first euro. I didn't have to pay double tax on the money I earned in Australia though.

just accept the fact that you have to pay 1500EUR tax. i have worked in a tax consultant office for over a year and i have not heard of anyone calling the finanzamt in favour of the state and against the client. my friend (who did the tax for me) has done a brilliant job and if the finanzamt agrees with her sum (still waiting for the letter), then i am more than happy.

Hi,

Thanks for the updates. As has been mentioned here, and a few people have told me as well, a the tax consultant would not contact the government to dispute something in your favour.

I looked at how they calculate the tax, and it appears that they add the Euro value of the Canadian income to me total salary, and then they check the tax tables to determine my tax rate. Once they have this rate, they then apply it to my original German income and arrive at the tax I should pay. My Canadian income is "tax free" in Germany, but it does push up my German tax rate, so in the end it does have an impact. The tax rate tables are very precise, so that is why the tax consultants estimate, and the actual bill from the governmemt are so close.

Well, at least the government gives me to the end of the month to pay the tax.

Thanks,

Ken

That's tomorrow!

You have till the 10th of the month to pay your bill, whether income tax or vat. In days gone by you could overrun this deadline and only suffer a sternly worded letter from the taxman, but now you can get a fine if you overstep the mark.

I walked into the tax office one day and they said you should do it our way, or

we'll cut off your internet mid-sentence?