Hello Everybody,
We are currently in limbo with our "Finanzamt", since our tax papers for the year we arrived to Germany (2003) are being examined and letters go back and forth through our local Tax Advisor. The person in "Finanzamt" is not convinced that our move from Canada to Germany had professional reasons and it changes our tax calculations significantly. Since we already have a financial advisor, we should be happy about it and quiet, I know, but it is not the first time that we experience such uncertainty dealing with our authorities in a small town we live in. So I would like to ask you if anybody can give us some information what is the German definition of a professional move and what is typical for GC holders - how are the tax proceedings for the first year in Germany? We are Polish citizens, lived before in Canada, sold the property there when my husband had an initial interview over the phone, which was very successful, came to Europe, two weeks after that my husband had a personal interview, got the contract to sign almost immidiately, got the GC in another week or two, started working. We supplied all the needed documents describing that process that our tax advisor asked for and now the "Finanzamt" clerk is still not sure if this was a professional move. The problem is that they gave us hope first, asked for many documents and now say it's still not clear. In Canada, for example, rules are more clear and everybody knows right away if the move is considered "job based" regarding taxes (in most cases it is not).
We will appreciate any suggestions from you.
Thank you,
Zuzanna