The fair tax fairy tale

Black money abroad and other investment risks

“My son, do your business with pleasure during the day, but only do it in such a way that we can sleep peacefully at night”. (Thomas Mann, Buddenbrooks)

Tax fairness:

“Inflation is eating away at assets and my retirement savings !” The “perceived inflation” of real everyday spending is 5-9% p.a. – while the safe capital market interest rate fluctuates around 3-4%, before taxes of course. The state is getting out of debt due to the devaluation of money In the 1990s, probably more than 90% of all tax returns on capital income were incorrect. Heirs are legally obligated to correct such errors – it is tempting to suppress this.

Wealth Management:

, “Hidden costs also reduce assets” – Costs, fees and kick-backs put savings at risk. Examples include funds of funds, certificates and insurance wrappers. In addition, the investment risks are usually disguised in the “small print”. – for example in the case of money market funds, which are allowed to invest in high-risk “subprime loans”. Or the Argentina bonds, which were sold to the bank customer as completely risk-free. Asset losses are the consequences of such misadvice.

Private Financial Planning:

“Everything built on sand?” – Asset managers and banks charge four- to five-figure fees for a financial plan: the worthlessness is written all over the paper: Often the hedging of basic risks and the scenario technique for the view into the asset future are missing.

40 billion in investment losses annually:

,,We advise you in ground !” – In the brokerage of closed investments, even major banks do not manage to effectively avoid central risks of the customers.

Liechtenstein:

“High commission payments for sales lies” – For asset protection, German private bankers allegedly offer bankruptcy-proof life insurance wrappers for fund investments. The broker does not want to have known anything about total loss risks and shame periods according to the bankruptcy code or the insolvency law – simple solutions off the peg can be brought to the man better in good faith.

30 billion in tax evasion:

Mailbox companies and messenger services” – As recently as the 1980s, bankers cashed cash checks without any account transactions – the customer could deposit the money directly across the street at the cashier’s desk of an insurance company: After 12 years, the proceeds were tax-free – and the evasion was time-barred.

Country risk:

Total loss risk by legal practice and missing supervision” – up to recent past German-language fortune managers used so-called collective accounts and collective deposits – potentially a refuge for money laundering and black money investments. Supervisory authorities sometimes carried out sloppy checks – without being liable to the investor. If such delicacies are later swept under the carpet, even many a financial intermediary working “in the travelling trade” remains unchallenged.

1 Banking secrecy and data protection:

“repeated indiscretions !” – Time and again, customer data on CD-ROM have found their way out of trust companies and banks. But there were also indiscretions by regulators. Credit institutions sell mortgage receivables against their own customers to collection companies, for balance sheet embellishment. Some banks also keep customer data on foreign assets neatly filed away for the tax auditor to pick up.

Bank Protection Vaccination:

Many providers – little quality” – insufficient product knowledge and sales pressure on the part of the advisor seem to be the rule when offering “comprehensive investment advice”. About 300 German tax laws together with 70,000 ordinances are certainly no longer mastered by a single financial advisor. A well-founded expert appraisal will be able to protect the investor there.

Professional asset management:

Each year hundreds of thousands of citizens fall for apparent “all-round carefree packages” from the world of finance. A lack of risk protection, also in the tax and contractual area, often ends in the destruction of assets. Professional asset management requires legal solutions to protect clients from avoidable disappointment. This is precisely where many customers are left out in the cold.

by Dr. Johannes Fiala

courtesy of

from www.halstenbeker-magazin.de (published in Halstenbeker Magazin 3/2008, page 20)

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About the author

Dr. Johannes Fiala
PhD, MBA, MM

Dr. Johannes Fiala has been working for more than 25 years as a lawyer and attorney with his own law firm in Munich. He is intensively involved in real estate, financial law, tax and insurance law. The numerous stages of his professional career enable him to provide his clients with comprehensive advice and to act as a lawyer in the event of disputes.
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