Income tax returns

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Income tax returns
Die alljährliche Abgabe der Steuererklärung ist eine ach so
unliebsame Pflicht. PATRICK MUSTU hat sich damit sowohl
sachlich als auch sprachlich eingehender befasst. advanced
M
ost people have to do it every
year, but very few enjoy it: preparing and filing a tax return. The
purpose of a tax return is to calculate
the income an individual or business
has earned in the previous year. This
amount determines how much they
must contribute to the state’s finances.
In many tax systems, employers subtract income tax from employees’
salaries and pay it to the government
directly. The process is called “PAYE”
(pay-as-you-earn) in the UK and “income-tax withholding” in the US.
When preparing a tax return, taxpayers need to document all their sources
of income as well as their expenses.
They may be able to deduct costs associated with their job, such as travelling to work or working from an office
E x e r c i s e : Ti m e t o f i l e
in their home. In most tax systems,
there are also special allowances. These
are amounts that you may deduct from
your income if certain things apply,
such as if you have children whom you
support financially. Once you have calculated your taxable income, you can
file your return. Your tax burden is
based on the information provided.
Doing a tax return can be complex,
often requiring a lot of time and effort,
and you may want to hire a tax adviser
to help you. Good advice can reduce
the amount of income tax you have to
pay. But there is a big difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion.
When you use legal ways of paying
lower taxes, for example, by moving a
business to a country with low business
taxes, this is tax avoidance.
Tax evasion, on the other hand, is a
crime. It is when you try to reduce the
amount you owe by not reporting all
sources of income. The punishment for
tax evasion includes high fines and even
imprisonment. In recent years, Germany
has bought stolen data discs to find out
the identity of citizens who might be
hiding money in foreign bank accounts.
International pressure on tax havens
is increasing. Some foreign banks have
given information about their customers
to the US government and have accepted punishment for helping tax
evaders. In 2009, Switzerland’s largest
bank, UBS, paid a fine of $780 million
(€565 million) for helping US citizens
to hide money from the tax authorities.
Choose the best answer for each question.
a) You must pay taxes on ______.
1. fines
2. allowances
3. income
b) A place where people try to hide money is a tax ______.
1. heaven
2. haven
3. paradise
c) Tax ______ is illegal.
1. avoidance
2. evasion
3. deduction
d) There are legal ways to reduce your tax ______.
1. burden
2. expense
3. assessment
allowance [E(laUEns]
deduct sth. [di(dVkt]
file a tax return
[)faI&l E (tÄks ri)t§:n]
fine [faIn]
imprisonment [Im(prIz&nmEnt]
PAYE (pay-as-you-earn)
[)pi: eI waI (i:] UK
taxable [(tÄksEb&l]
tax adviser [(tÄks Ed)vaIzE]
tax authorities [(tÄks O:)TQrEtiz]
tax avoidance [(tÄks E)vOIdEns]
tax burden [(tÄks )b§:d&n]
tax evasion [(tÄks i)veIZ&n]
tax haven [(tÄks )heIv&n]
Frei-, Pauschbetrag
etw. abziehen, absetzen
eine Steuererklärung
abgeben
Geldstrafe
Gefängnis, Freiheitsstrafe
Lohnsteuerabzugsverfahren
steuerpflichtig
Steuerberater(in)
Fiskus, Steuerbehörden
Steuerumgehung, -vermeidung
Steuerbelastung, -last
Steuerhinterziehung
Steueroase
Answers on page 64
58 www.business-spotlight.de
4/2014
Useful phrases
Questions for a tax professional:
l Can I claim entertainment expenses?
l Do I have to declare my pension?
l What happens if I’ve lost a receipt?
l Is it possible to change my filing status?
l Do you think I should make an appeal?
Advice from a tax professional:
l You must file your tax return soon.
l You should consider deferring taxes.
l I suggest contacting the tax authorities.
l Have you thought about treating these
as income-related expenses?
Filing a return
appeal [E(pi:&l]
business accounting
[(bIznEs E)kaUntIN]
child benefit
[(tSaI&ld )benIfIt] UK
claim sth. [kleIm]
declare sth. [di(kleE]
file a tax return
[)faI&l E (tÄks ri)t§:n]
filing status [(faIlIN )steItEs]
income ceiling
[(InkVm )si:lIN]
individual assessment
[IndI)vIdZuEl E(sesmEnt]
joint assessment
[)dZOInt E(sesmEnt]
joint tax return
[)dZOInt (tÄks ri)t§:n]
late filing penalty
[)leIt (faI&lIN )penElti]
late payment penalty
[)leIt (peImEnt )penElti]
receipt [ri(si:t]
tax assessment notice
[)tÄks E(sesmEnt )nEUtIs] UK
tax bracket [(tÄks )brÄkIt]
tax number [(tÄks )nVmbE]
tax rate [(tÄks reIt]
Einspruch
betriebliches
Rechnungswesen
Kindergeld
etw. (steuerlich)
geltend machen
etw. angeben
eine Steuererklärung
abgeben
Steuerklasse
Beitragsbemessungsgrenze
Einzelveranlagung
Zusammenveranlagung
gemeinsame
Steuererklärung
Verspätungszuschlag
Säumniszuschlag
Beleg, Quittung
Steuer(mess)bescheid
Steuerstufe
Steuernummer
Steuersatz
For more information
BOOKS
English for Tax Professionals, Patrick Mustu (Cornelsen)
Praxiswörterbuch Business Accounting Englisch,
Jochen Langenbeck (Langenscheidt)
WEBSITES
Bundeszentralamt für Steuern:
www.germantaxes.info (in English)
HM Revenue & Customs: www.hmrc.gov.uk
Internal Revenue Service (IRS): www.irs.gov
Patrick Mustu provides in-company training to
lawyers and tax advisers. He is the author of English for Tax Professionals (see “For more information” box). Contact: info@kanzleienglisch.de
4/2014
Types of taxes
corporate tax [ (kO:pErEt )tÄks]
corporation tax [)kO:pE(reIS&n tÄks]
flat-rate withholding tax
[)flÄt reIt wID(hEUldIN tÄks]
gift tax [(gIft tÄks]
income tax [(InkVm tÄks]
inheritance tax [In(herItEns tÄks]
property transfer tax
[)prQpEti (trÄnsf§: tÄks]
trade tax [(treId tÄks]
vehicle tax [(vi:Ik&l tÄks]
wage tax [(weIdZ tÄks]
wealth tax [(welT tÄks]
withholding tax [wID(hEUldIN tÄks]
Unternehmensteuer
Körperschaftsteuer
Abgeltungsteuer
Schenkungsteuer
Einkommensteuer
Erbschaftsteuer
Grunderwerbsteuer
Gewerbesteuer
Kfz-Steuer
Lohnsteuer
Vermögensteuer
Quellensteuer
Types of income
Beschäftigung, nichtselbstständige Arbeit
Honorar, Gebühr
Sachzuwendung, -bezug
Rente
selbstständige Arbeit
geldwerter Vorteil
employment [Im(plOImEnt]
fee [fi:]
non-cash benefit [)nQn )kÄS (benIfIt]
pension [(penS&n]
self-employment [)self Im(plOImEnt]
taxable fringe benefit
[)tÄksEb&l )frIndZ (benIfIt]
trading business [(treIdIN )bIznEs]
Gewerbebetrieb
Deductible costs
allowance [E(laUEns]
entertainment expenses
[entE(teInmEnt Ik)spensIz]
expenses [Ik(spensIz]
health insurance [(helT In)SUErEns]
home office [)hEUm (QfIs] US
income-related expenses
[)InkVm ri)leItId Ik(spensIz]
meal allowance [(mi:&l E)laUEns]
travel expenses [(trÄv&l Ik)spensIz]
Frei-, Pauschbetrag
Bewirtungsaufwendungen
Ausgaben, Aufwendungen
Krankenversicherung
häusliches Arbeitszimmer
Werbungskosten
Verpflegungsmehraufwendungen
Fahrtkosten, Reisekosten
People and authorities
tax accountant, tax adviser (also: advisor),
tax consultant [(tÄks E)kaUntEnt, (tÄks
Ed)vaIzE, (tÄks kEn)sVltEnt]
tax auditor [(tÄks )O:dItE]
tax authorities [(tÄks O:)TQrEtiz]
tax investigator [(tÄks in)vestIgeItE]
tax professional [(tÄks prE)feS&nEl]
Steuerberater(in)
Steuer-, Betriebsprüfer(in)
Fiskus, Steuerbehörden
Steuerfahnder(in)
Steuerfachkraft, -berater(in)
Verbs used with “taxes”
assess [E(ses]
avoid [E(vOId]
deduct [di(dVkt]
defer [di(f§:]
evade [i(veId]
levy [(levi]
withhold [wID(hEUld]
festsetzen
vermeiden
abziehen, absetzen
aufschieben
hinterziehen
erheben
einbehalten
www You can find more job vocabulary at www.business-spotlight.de/vocabulary
www.business-spotlight.de 59
/ Solutions to page 64/
English for... income tax returns (pp. 58–59)
a–3; b–2; c–2; d–1
60 www.business-spotlight.de
3/2012