Hidden Tax Haven of German forests.

[NewHorizonsParaguay]

https://www.europeanpressprize.com/...-forest-the-most-absurd-tax-haven-in-germany/

 

[SCHLOSSFINANZ]

its just lefist media story, in practice is not working and saves you only 3-4% tax so...

 

[Ilias]

Just the usual leftist/communist media circus frothing at the mouth over something, this time Count Gregor von Bismarck running a “tax haven” out of a wooden hunting hut in the Sachsenwald.

They want you to believe it’s some sinister loophole, some betrayal of “democratic norms.” But what they’re really angry about is much simpler: someone found a legal, efficient, and entirely rational way to retain value (well, save at least a few %) in a country designed to punish wealth creation.

The real scandal is that this isn’t a scandal. The entire arrangement — the estate district, the low trade tax rate, the Count’s legal authority to appoint the district manager — all of it is codified. The laws were written before modern Germany even existed, and they remain on the books because no bureaucrat bothered to kill the privilege. That’s not corruption. That’s inertia. And inertia is exploitable.

You know what’s truly absurd? That entrepreneurs are still trying to build companies under Germany’s crushing trade tax burden — average rate 407%, Hamburg 470% (it is Hebesatz so calculated very strangely, like 250% = 8.75%, but still) — and somehow expect to be globally competitive. Bismarck did NOT create any tax haven. He simply didn’t volunteer to get fleeced. And instead of taking a salary from a bloated government department or an EU climate subsidy racket, he built a holding structure that gives him cash flow and control.

But this is a just a decoy play! Germany is already a fiscal prison. Let’s be honest: whether you pay 275% or 470% trade tax, you’re still in a terminally ill system.

1. 42-45% personal income tax for most decent earners
2. 18.6% pension contributions, 2.4% unemployment contributions, 14.6% health contributions, 3.05% long-term care contributions (all just taxes with a prettier name)
3. 15.825% corporate tax + 3.5% base trade tax + this messed up local Hebesatz
4. VAT at 19%
5. Inheritance tax nightmares
6. Exit tax if you dare move away

So go ahead — save €70K on trade tax by registering in the woods. Then watch the Finanzamt bleed you dry anyway. This entire spectacle is the equivalent of arguing over cabin placement after the torpedo has hit. Germany isn’t just high-tax — it’s anti-capital. Every successful entrepreneur is seen as a piggy bank to be cracked open. Every efficiency is framed as abuse. The media’s job is to inflame resentment against anyone not on the state payroll.

The journalists screaming “Scam” are just failed rent-seekers. This story wasn’t broken by investigative watchdogs serving truth — it was dragged out by taxpayer-funded timewasters angry that someone, somewhere, isn’t kneeling before the bureaucratic altar. They’re palace scribes, defending a system that feeds them (with other people's assets they have no right to). They add zero value to the economy. Bismarck, on the other hand, maintains a forestry business, engages in financial markets, manages real assets, and employs people.

 

[Alonzo]

1. 42-45% personal income tax for most decent earners
2. 18.6% pension contributions, 2.4% unemployment contributions, 14.6% health contributions, 3.05% long-term care contributions (all just taxes with a prettier name)
3. 15.825% corporate tax + 3.5% base trade tax + this messed up local Hebesatz
4. VAT at 19%
5. Inheritance tax nightmares
6. Exit tax if you dare move away

1. Define decent earners (self employed)
2. Yeah that sucks but there is a cap
3. Corporate tax in DE is too damn high indeed
4. Not bad compared to the rest of Europe
5. Inheritance tax brackets are wiiiiide though… €1m to ur kid is 7.5% effectively (UK takes 27% at £1m and France 21.4%) and €10m is 19.3% effectively. It’s not that bad of a nightmare
6. It’s harsh (for >1% stake holders)

 

[daniels27]

Also keep in mind that for all transparent entities (which is very common in Germany), any tax paid for a Hebesatz up to 400 is deductions from income tax.

 

[marioIT]

Idk some people get used to the system and they end up being trapped in their comfort zone (aka hell).
Any German I know that had a business there is still receiving angry letters from Finanzamt, even after moving abroad.
Those letters are raw unfiltered psychological terror. I've seen friends with PTSD and flashbacks just by hearing there's a letter from Finanzamt...
Best thing is when you're abroad for years, enjoying life, and they're asking you to bring them some papers from like 7 years ago, that they already have, but you cannot email it because "the procedure" doesn't allow it, and it's allowed only in person, and they give you the ultimatum: "15 days else..."!
that's the best case obviously, good luck if you get audited!
The only difference I hear compared to other EU countries is that you can get out clean after long audits (years)! Other EU countries will always find something to fine and get more money...
Also notaries...
Taxes are just half of the issue: it's a nightmare and those journalists don't even know what they're talking about.