ELSTER obligation does not apply to microenterprises

If the costs for PC and Internet access are not in economic proportion to the amount of income, a micro-entrepreneur is entitled to continue filing the tax return in paper form.

All tradespeople, freelancers and farmers and foresters have been required to submit their tax returns to the tax office electronically since 2011. The tax office can approve an exception if this obligation would cause undue hardship. In contrast to the tax office, the Rhineland-Palatinate Fiscal Court generally considers such a case of hardship to exist for a small business if the costs of purchasing a computer including an internet connection are not in any economically viable relation to the business income. The case was brought by a self-employed newspaper deliverer with an annual profit of less than 3,000 euros. However, the tax office did not accept the ruling and intends to appeal to the Federal Fiscal Court.