Federal Ministry of Finance confirms objection by simple e-mail

Despite the contrary ruling of a tax court, the Federal Ministry of Finance continues to consider the objection with a simple e-mail to be admissible.

In its response to a question from a member of the Bundestag, the Federal Ministry of Finance confirms that an objection to a tax assessment with a simple, unsigned e-mail is still admissible. The background to the inquiry was the recent ruling by the Hessian Fiscal Court, which only considered an objection with a signed e-mail to be valid. An appeal against the ruling is currently pending before the Federal Fiscal Court.

Even if taxpayers can rely on the admissibility of the objection vis-à-vis the tax office, however, this does not finally solve the problem. There is, in fact, no explicit legal provision declaring a normal e-mail admissible, only administrative instructions issued by the tax authorities. Unlike laws, however, the courts are not bound by such administrative directives. They can therefore - at least until a decision by the Federal Fiscal Court or a change in the law - similar to the Hessian Fiscal Court now, consider the objection to be invalid at any time, which, depending on the view of the Federal Fiscal Court, will either prolong the legal process or rule it out altogether.