Klingbeil takes up: New fight against undeclared work in Germany!

Klingbeil takes up: New fight against undeclared work in Germany!

Deutschland - Federal Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil (SPD) has announced an increased fight against undeclared work and tax fraud in Germany. At a press conference, he explained that the customs officials should become active in comprehensive investigations against the shadow economy. "I want to send my customs officials off, there is enough to look," explained Klingbeil. His criticism is particularly aimed at his predecessor Christian Lindner (FDP), whom he blames for his unambinistry fighting the undeclared work.

A recent report by customs covered damage caused by undeclared work of 766 million euros for 2024, which represents an increase compared to 615 million euros in 2023. Experts estimate that the number of illegal work is significantly higher. These worrying numbers were published before the presentation of the annual report of customs and illustrate the extent of the problem.

planned measures and legislative initiatives

Klingbeil plans to bring a bill to the Bundestag before the summer break to better combat undeclared work. He also announced that he would intensify the investigation in order to uncover more cases of undeclared work. The aim is to protect people from exploitation and to secure government income. A decisive instrument will be the use of automated data analysis, including artificial intelligence, in order to be able to carry out targeted investigations.

The focus of the financial inspectors is primarily aimed at industries that are particularly susceptible to undeclared work, such as the hairdresser industry, cosmetics and barbers shops as well as nail studios. Klingbeil emphasized that he was striving for a harder course against tax fraudsters and money laundering. The reverse of the burden of proof in the event of assets proposed by the finance minister is introduced as a further step in the fight against financial crime. Suspicious assets now have to prove that they were legally acquired, which the authority should clearly support in its investigation.

The announcements of Klingbeil are in the context of the growing challenges in the fight against illegal practices in Germany and show the pressure on the government to take effective measures to combat tax fraud and undeclared work. The coming months could be crucial to actually implement the reforms sought by the SPD and to permanently create more transparency in the labor market.

For further information about the measures against tax fraud and undeclared work, you can view the official information of the Bundestag here .