Track down tax evaders thanks to an anonymous online whistleblower platform: the initiative of the German region of Baden-Württemberg, led by environmentalists, sows turmoil within a month of the elections.

The Land, located in the southwest of Germany, put online at the beginning of the week a platform offering "a secure and anonymous communication channel" to allow individuals to report fraudsters, welcomes the regional finance ministry. .

Concrete evidence

This new portal should allow, according to the Minister of Finance Danyal Bayaz (Greens), anonymous exchanges between the tax administration and whistleblowers and an improvement in the digitization of procedures.

Until now, denunciations were possible but only by letter or electronic mail, which according to the Minister limited the possibilities of investigation and archiving.

The denunciations will however have to be supported by concrete evidence before the opening of any tax investigation, assures the minister.

A "block keeper mentality"

But this regional initiative is causing a stir in a country where the denunciation recalls the dark days of Nazism and then of the regime of the former East Germany.

The regional leader of the Liberals, Michael Theurer, thus denounces a "completely new dimension of denunciation" which, according to him, reveals a "block guard mentality".

Same tone on the side of the conservatives of the CDU, yet coalition partners of environmentalists in Baden-Württemberg: "once again, the Greens show their true face", lambasted Thorsten Frei, vice-president of the Land, worrying of a wave of suspicion that could befall taxpayers.

This initiative "creates a climate of mistrust", added Bernd Gögel, leader of the AfD group (far right) in the regional parliament.

The service sector union, Verdi, notes for its part that the initiative must be supplemented to be effective by recruiting new staff, "otherwise it will be a lot of ado about nothing".

Fraud valued at 50 billion euros in Germany

A few weeks of elections with an undecided outcome, the initiative of the only region led by the Greens has become a topic of debate in a country where fraud is estimated at around 50 billion euros each year.

The environmental candidate for Angela Merkel's succession, Annalena Baerbock, has indeed expressed support for such a country-wide initiative.

"To fight against economic and financial crime, it is also necessary to protect the whistleblowers, it is obvious", justified the co-president of the Greens, Robert Habeck.

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