Der Steuerbetrug

The treatise is the first comprehensive analysis of the criminal nature of the German provisions against tax evasion. The study definies to what amount tax evasion is similar to the criminal offense of fraud. On that basis it points out the legal limits within which the German authorities can prosecute tax evasion regardless of its classification as a serious criminal offence. For instance, the author urges for a counterbalance to the downsides of the often unusual complex tax law leading to disadvantages for the citizens.
The study is a critical analysis of all German criminal provisions on fraud. It demonstrates that all these provisions constitute a distinct category of offenses ("Deliktsfamilie") whose construction is bound to the limits set by the constitutional principle of equality. Further, the author submits a new understanding of the fundamental German criminal law concept on legal assets ("Rechtsgutslehre"). He rejects the Federal Constitutions Court's low standard approach on criminalization as well as undemocratic versions of the above mentioned concept on legal assets.