Korruptionsbekämpfung durch das Steuerrecht und Kooperation von Strafverfolgungs- und Finanzbehörden

This thesis investigates how tax law can be used to fight corruption. The taxation procedure is particularly well-suited as a starting point for further criminal proceedings in cases involving corruption in the context of economic crime. However, the collaboration between law enforcement and tax authorities in this field is not without its difficulties, as it involves different areas of the law (tax law, criminal law, criminal tax law) and different types of proceedings (taxation proceedings, criminal investigations), whose interactions result in numerous problems. This work also finds that § 4 sec. 5 sentence 1 No. 10 of the EStG (Germany’s Income Tax Act) is insufficiently considered in practice. After analysing the norm and its various levels of impact (fiscal, general preventive and criminal tax law levels), the author concludes that the current rules have weaknesses that provoke avoidance behaviour among the tax authorities.