The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demands prison sentences of 12 months (of which 6 months conditional with a probation period of 3 years) and a professional and administrative ban for 5 years against two men from Schinveld and Geleen for large-scale tax fraud and embezzlement. The suspects presented themselves as tax and legal advisors and have allegedly helped taxpayers for a fee to submit many incorrect income tax returns. Amounts were incorrectly deducted as gifts.
The suspects, both directors of an association that presented itself as a tax legal office, have allegedly not only intentionally filled in their own tax returns incorrectly, but also intentionally submitted incorrect returns together with the association and members of the association. Furthermore, the Limburgers embezzled thousands of euros in association funds.
Members in debt and uncertainty
The consequences for the involved members of that association are serious. Many members initially received tax refunds through the automatic processing of their erroneous return. Later, they ran into problems when the Tax Authorities rightly reclaimed these funds following a substantive assessment of that return. In some cases, there were people involved who were not invited to file a tax return. However, due to the advice of the suspects, they did so anyway. Ultimately, this led to extra debts and uncertainty, as they faced unexpected reassessments, interest, and lengthy procedures.
No legal education
Against the association, which presented itself as a legal office, the OM demanded a fine of 15,000 euros. According to the OM, the association had a significant role in systematically submitting incorrect tax returns on behalf of its members. The members had to transfer 15% of the wrongly received tax to the association. None of the involved parties have a legal education.
Prison sentence
The public prosecutor stated on Monday that this case is an example of a worrying development in our society. A development where self-appointed legal advisors mislead taxpayers for a fee with incorrect and harmful advice. The OM finds it particularly serious because the suspects tried to benefit financially while ultimately leaving others in distress. The Tax Authorities were also burdened with an enormous amount of extra work due to the actions of the suspects. Given all these circumstances, the OM believes that no other punishment is appropriate than a prison sentence along with the imposition of a professional and administrative ban.