Man, the EU is rough. Or at least Germany is, anyway. As a freelancer, I am required to demand 19% VAT (value added tax) from all of my clients within Germany. I think that is outrageous, but whatever - they have to pay it, and then I just hand it over to the man. Speaking of which, if you are working as a freelancer or are thinking about starting a business, I recommend just talking to a tax consultant (Steuerberater). The tax law in Germany is extremely abstruse, and if you are working (and let’s hope you are), then you won’t have time to inform yourself about it and do it right. Just hire someone to help you until you are successful enough to get educated to the level where you can do it alone. I missed out on paying my VAT back to the gov for the last three months, and now they want 4xx.xx euros from me. Actually, I don’t even think the amount is that bad (it’s not my money).

I still have yet to do my personal income tax, but apparently while everyone else is doing it next May, I’ll be able to put it off until September. That’s one thing my tax consultant an do which I think is pretty snazzy…

Moral: Use a tax consultant while you are getting started out. Give them power of attorney to communicate with the Finanzamt and focus on your work.