The Federal Central Tax Office (german: Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, abbreviated BZSt) is a German
federal agency responsible for administering various sections of the country's tax code. It was created out of its current parent agency, the
Federal Ministry of Finance, on 1 January 2006 and has approximately 2,200 employees.
Beginning in July 2007, the BZSt began issuing a unique
National identification number
A national identification number, national identity number, or national insurance number or JMBG/EMBG is used by the governments of many countries as a means of tracking their citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents for the purp ...
to every resident, replacing the formerly decentralized system. The BZSt also operates informational databases relating to the local tax offices.
Departments
* Department "Q" ("Querschnittsaufgaben": Cross-sectional responsibilities)
**
General counsel
A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department.
In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
** Compliance
** Human Resources, Organisation, Budgetary, Internal services, IT
** Tax Information Center, Reporting, Informationszentrum Steuern, Berichtswesen, Regulatory impact analysis, Risk Management
** Automation, Legal documentation department
* Tax Department "I" ("VAT")
** Administrative assistance for domestic and foreign government agencies
** Service and foreclosure of international tax assessments
** Refunding of
value-added tax
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
es (VAT)
** VAT Auditing
** Assessment of civil fines and criminal penalties
** Issuance and confirmation of
VAT identification numbers for
European Union value added tax
** EU VAT Tax Reporting
* Tax Department II ("National")
** Assessment of insurance and fire brigade taxes
** Supervisory control for
child benefit
Child benefit or children's allowance is a social security payment which is distributed to the parents or guardians of children, teenagers and in some cases, young adults. A number of countries operate different versions of the program. In most cou ...
payments
** Supervisory control for government-subsidized private pension payments ("Riester" plans)
** Refunds and exemption of
capital gains tax
A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property.
Not all countries impose a c ...
es
** Bank account auditing
** Application processing and reporting for tax-exempted entities
** Application processing and reporting for pension payments
** Certification of private pension plans ("Riester" and "Rürup" plans), investment taxes, and returning of paid-in capital
** Tax Info Center, VAT Service Group
* Tax Department III ("Foreign withholding taxes")
** Mutual agreement procedures as per international
tax treaties
A tax treaty, also called double tax agreement (DTA) or double tax avoidance agreement (DTAA), is an agreement between two countries to avoid or mitigate double taxation. Such treaties may cover a range of taxes including income taxes, inheritan ...
** Administrative assistance for direct taxes
** Primary contact point for foreign investors
** Relief of German capital gains withholding taxes
** Tax exemption certifications for construction industry as per §48(b) of the Income Tax Law (EStG)
** Tax processing for foreign artists and athletes
** Information center for foreign tax relationships
* Federal Tax Auditing Department I (product branch)
* Federal Tax Auditing Department II (service branch)
* Federal Tax Auditing Department III (cross-sector task)
The Federal Tax Auditing Departments I, II and III employ approximately 500 auditors, who are responsible for reviewing the roughly 15,000
concerns incorporated in Germany.
To increase efficiency and effectiveness in the administration of taxes, the Regulatory Impact Assessment, Risk Management, and Reporting departments are being expanded.
Offices
The BZSt's main offices are in
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
in the district of
Beuel
Beuel ( Ripuarian: ''Büel'') is a city borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, Germany. It has a population of 67,827 (2020).
Subdivisions
Beuel is composed of the sub-districts Beuel-Mitte, Beuel-Ost, Geislar, Hoholz, Holtorf, Holzlar, Küdinghoven ...
at An der Küppe 1 and Platanenweg 33. Additional offices are in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
,
Saarlouis
Saarlouis (; french: link=no, Sarrelouis, ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located on t ...
, and
Schwedt/Oder
Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. With the official status of a '' Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (major district town), it is the largest town of the Uckermark district, located near the river Oder ...
.
External links
Homepage of the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern
References
{{Reflist
German federal agencies
Taxation in Germany
Federal authorities in Bonn