Can an Australian company accept incoming funds into a German account?
September 23, 2012 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Wirtschaftsprüfer André Hintz
Hello,
my official place of residence is Australia, at the moment I am visiting Germany for a few months.
I have a one-person company in Australia that offers internet services.
There are also interested parties (companies) in Germany for my internet services. If I accept a client in Germany, they will receive an invoice from my Australian company.
They can pay via Paypal. However, not many companies here in Germany use Paypal.
My wife still has an account with a bank in Germany from before. If I want to make it easy for a business client in Germany to pay and they transfer to this account at this bank in Germany, from where I then transfer it to my Australian account via internet banking:
Would that be the same as if the German business customer were directly transferring to me in Australia, therefore not having to pay German VAT?
Or would it be different, since they are paying directly within Germany?
Since I am only here as a tourist, I cannot register with the German tax office.
Thank you.
Dear inquirer,
I would like to answer your question within the scope of an initial consultation and based on your fee commitment, in accordance with the rules of the online portal. My response is based on the facts you have presented.
The question is whether you are conducting business in Germany.
In the case of a one-person service agency operating over the internet, you are generally liable to pay taxes where your business is located. An exception would be if you require a specifically established business location that is in a specific place. In the case of internet services, this does not seem to be the case.
If you are in Germany and providing services to a German company at that time, you are liable for income and sales tax in Germany. Accordingly, you must also issue your invoices in accordance with sales tax law and register for taxation.
The payment of your invoices is essentially irrelevant for taxation, as it can be made to a German or Australian bank account. Only in certain cases is the timing of payment of significance for sales tax purposes.
Furthermore, the question of whether you are allowed to engage in commercial activities in Germany with a tourist visa would need to be clarified. This is a legal question that I, as a tax advisor, am not allowed to answer for you.
I hope that my explanations have been helpful to you and remain
Yours sincerely
André Hintz
Tax Advisor
Steuerberatung@andrehintz.de
