Saarbrücken restaurant manager: evaded 150,000 euros in taxes!

Saarbrücken restaurant manager: evaded 150,000 euros in taxes!

The case of an operator of a Chinese restaurant in Saarbrücken is currently being heard by the Saarbrücken Regional Court for tax evasion. The public prosecutor's office accuses the owner of having evaded at least 150,000 euros in taxes between October 2017 and November 2019 by manipulating her cash register system. The case stems from a nationwide investigation targeting restaurants and was launched, according to a report by the Saarland radio revealed.

The authorities accuse the operator of canceling orders through a special app, which meant that these sales were not registered in the checkout system. Thus, falsified sales were reported to the tax office in order to reduce the tax burden. The operator has admitted the allegations and is currently in custody. Her defense attorney said that if she was convicted, she would face a suspended sentence. A verdict is expected on June 13, 2025.

Connection to nationwide investigations

The accusation of tax evasion in Saarbrücken is not isolated. There is a growing problem with the manipulation of cash register systems in the catering industry, which is also noticeable in other cities. An example from the region of northwest Germany shows that a restaurateur who runs an Asian restaurant in Ganderkesee is also accused of evading over 1.3 million euros in taxes in over 1,500 cases between 2016 and 2019. There was considerable manipulation in which invoices were canceled, to an extent of up to 96% in the “JGastro” cash register system taz reported.

These fraudulent practices by catering establishments represent a massive phenomenon that poses major challenges for the tax authorities. The Federal Audit Office estimates that the annual damage caused by cash fraud can be estimated at around 70 billion euros. It is important to note that on average tax authorities only inspect less than 0.2% of businesses, which is well below the recommended rate of 2.4%.

The consequences of manipulation

The cases of fraud in the catering sector go beyond the regions and span many federal states. In 2021, the inventors of the cash register company “Multiway” were sentenced to several years in prison for similar schemes. The investigation into the “JGastro” cash register system leads to searches in almost 500 restaurants, which underlines the seriousness of the situation.

In the trial in Oldenburg, which was adjourned after the indictment was read out, accused restaurateurs in the past usually received suspended sentences. But in the case of high tax losses, as in the case cited above, the defendants face significant prison sentences.

The issue of cash fraud is becoming even more complex due to the new government coalition's planned abolition of the receipt requirement introduced in 2020. The manufacturers of cash register systems and the operators of affected companies must therefore deal more intensively with the fulfillment of legal requirements in order to avoid such accusations in the future.