Friday, August 6th, 2021
Survey on the Cum-Ex affair
Tax officer denies influence of politicians
She is regarded as the central witness in the “Cum Ex” affair surrounding the Hamburg Warburg Bank: A tax officer is asked by the parliamentary committee of inquiry to what extent there was influence from leading SPD politicians. The answer is clear.
The tax officer responsible for the Warburg Bank involved in the “Cum Ex” scandal has rejected political influence in the recovery of capital gains taxes. In her questioning in the parliamentary committee of inquiry of the Hamburg citizenship she answered all questions about a possible influence on the tax case from outside with “no”. The 53-year-old is considered to be a central figure in the affair because, as the head of department in the tax office for large companies, all the threads came together.
She had no contact with other authorities or people who had anything to do with the bank, she said. She was not aware of the fact that the then Hamburg mayor and current SPD candidate for chancellor and Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz in 2016 and 2017 met with the co-owners of the bank, Max Warburg and Christian Olearius, said the fully qualified lawyer who was invited as a witness.
The committee wants to clarify the allegation that leading SPD politicians exerted influence on the tax treatment of the Warburg Bank. Because after the first meeting between Scholz and Olearius, who was already being investigated on suspicion of serious tax evasion, the tax office for large companies had waived additional tax claims in the amount of 47 million euros in 2016 after the limitation period had expired. Another 43 million euros were only requested in 2017 after the Federal Ministry of Finance intervened.
BGH: Warburg Bank has to repay 176 million euros
Originally, the tax office wanted to reclaim the capital gains tax, but then moved away from it after a round of talks with representatives of the tax authority. On the one hand, the bank’s very existence might have been threatened, and on the other hand, no tax evasion could have been proven. “We didn’t know if it was cum-ex or not,” said the witness. It looked like it, but it could also have been completely different.
In 2020, Warburg Bank finally paid 155 million euros in tax claims for the years 2007 to 2011. But this is “not to be understood as an admission of guilt”. Rather, the money house continues to take legal action against the tax assessments. Since the end of July it has been established by the highest court that “Cum-Ex” transactions are punishable by law. The Federal Court of Justice made it clear that the criminal offense of tax evasion had been fulfilled. The Warburg Bank has to repay more than 176 million euros.
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