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Tax office in Hamburg (archive picture): "We didn't know whether it was cum-ex deals or not," said the witness.
Photo: imago / wolterfoto
For years, politicians and tax officials watched as banks enriched themselves with cum-ex deals - including at Hamburg's Warburg-Bank. But has politics influenced the civil servants in a targeted manner? The responsible officer at the Hamburg tax office has now rejected this accusation. When questioned in the parliamentary committee of inquiry of the Hamburg citizenship, she answered all questions about possible external influence on the tax case with "no". The 53-year-old is considered to be a central figure in the affair because, as the head of department in the tax office for large companies, everything came together.
She had no contact with other authorities or people who had anything to do with the bank, she said. She did not know that the then Hamburg mayor and current SPD candidate for chancellor and Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz in 2016 and 2017 met with the co-owners of the bank, Max Warburg and Christian Olearius, said the fully qualified attorney who was invited as a witness.
The committee wants to clarify the allegation that leading SPD politicians exerted influence on the tax treatment of the Warburg Bank. Because after Scholz's first meeting with Olearius, who was already being investigated on suspicion of serious tax evasion, the tax office for large companies had waived additional tax claims in the amount of 47 million euros in 2016 after the limitation period had expired. Another 43 million euros were only requested in 2017 after the Federal Ministry of Finance intervened.
Originally, the tax office wanted to reclaim the capital gains tax, but then moved away from it after a round of talks with representatives of the tax authority. On the one hand, the existence of the bank might have been threatened, and on the other hand, no tax evasion could have been proven. "We didn't know if it was cum-ex or not," said the witness. It looked like it, but it could have been completely different.
In 2020, Warburg Bank finally paid 155 million euros in tax claims for the years 2007 to 2011.
But this is "not to be understood as an admission of guilt".
Rather, the money house continues to take legal action against the tax assessments.
Since the end of July it has been established by the highest court that cum-ex transactions are punishable.
The Federal Court of Justice made it clear that the criminal offense of tax evasion had been fulfilled.
The Warburg Bank has to repay more than 176 million euros.
mic / dpa
