No right to information
Bundesfinanzhof: Anonymous ads remain secret
There are also false accusations behind anonymous advertisements to the tax office. It is almost impossible for the victims to find out who denounced them – and it will stay that way.
In the future, the victims of false tax evasion allegations will continue to have few opportunities to track down theunners. According to a new judgment of the Federal Fiscal Court, taxpayers generally have no claim to insight into anonymous. The data protection right to insight into personal data does not change anything.
East German landlady wrongly accused
In the specific case, the tax office had checked the cash register of an East German restaurateur after an anonymous advertisement – with the result that everything was correct and that the landlady had not evaded any taxes. Afterwards, the woman wanted to research who had raised the wrong accusations. She asked her local tax office to move out the anonymous advertisement. However, the authority rejected this, and the woman’s complaint was unsuccessful in the first instance before the Berlin-Brandenburg Finance Court.
The authority’s confidentiality interest is the decisive factor
The IX saw that. Senate of the Federal Fiscal Court as well. In principle, the right to information for personal data also applies to anonymous displays. Nevertheless, a tax authority does not have to provide information about an anonymous advertisement if the confidentiality interest of the authority and the protection of the identity of the “reporter” weigh higher in individual cases, as the judgment states.
dpa
Source: Stern
