Boris Becker And German Taxman Reach Deal

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

05 August 2002

In July, prosecutors in Munich deposited a 300-page file on Boris Becker with the Munich court, which decided to bring charges against Becker for tax evasion, Manfred Wick, head of the city's public prosecutor's office, said: 'There is sufficient reason to suspect tax offences'.

Prosecutors believe Becker was registered as a resident in the tax haven of Monaco in the early 1990s, but actually lived in his sister's loft in Munich. Investigators maintain his business was conducted in Germany and he has to pay taxes in the country.

Now it is reported that an agreement has been hammered out under which Becker will pay the taxes he’s charged with avoiding, plus penalties of $6.6 million.

Becker's trial is expected to take place in Munich later this month, and it is thought that the agreement will be offered to the Court on the first day of the trial. If the deal is not accepted, Becker will probably face a two-year sentence for tax evasion, although under the German court system he is likely to be placed on probation and not spend time in jail.

Becker offered the equivalent of $7m in 2000 to settle the case, but the authorities refused, and continued with their investigation. A stroke of luck for the tax inspectors came when Hans Gerd, a Becker fan and official archivist of the German Tennis Federation, asked the star to bless a massive photo-album which tracked Becker's public appearances all over the world for many years - when Becker didn't answer Gerd's letter, the disenchanted fan sent the album to the prosecutor's office.

Recommended