Influencers in the sights of the German tax authorities

The State Office for Combating Financial Crime North Rhine-Westphalia (LBF NRW) published a press release on July 15, 2025, according to which the tax investigation department is evaluating a data package from several social media platforms with 6000 data records and a criminal tax volume of around 300 million euros. Allegedly, the data points to untaxed profits, including advertising and subscriptions.

The LBF NRW has formed its own influencer team, which uses investigative methods specially tailored to advertising partnerships and revenues. In particular, the actual place of residence (keyword: tax liability in Germany) is determined through continuous analyses of social media activities.

According to its own information, the influencer team is currently conducting around 200 ongoing criminal proceedings against influencers living in North Rhine-Westphalia - not including the cases from the current data package. On average, it is a high five-digit tax deficit, in individual cases even millions.

The NRW tax administration is sending a clear signal: Digital business models are also being looked at closely. Other German states have now taken NRW as a model and have also implemented the methods developed there.

Our experts in criminal tax law and tax law will be happy to help you if the impending wave of investigations may affect you.