The Whistleblower Protection Act, in force since September 2024, gives employees, contractors and suppliers the right to report violations of the law. Such reports may concern, among other things, irregularities that affect the financial interests of the State Treasury or local government units, including, for example, irregularities exposing taxes or duties to leakage. 

Who can be a “tax” whistleblower?
A whistleblower is anyone who, in connection with their work or the provision of services, notices a breach of the law. This therefore means that any employee, anyone working under a civil law contract (e.g. B2B), as well as anyone working for a supplier or contractor can be a whistleblower. The Whistleblower Protection Act does not require that whistleblowers act in the public interest, so reporting can also serve to protect one's own rights. A whistleblower can, for example, report that their own social security contributions or tax advances have been incorrectly calculated. A whistleblower can also be an auditor or any other person who, in a work-related context, becomes suspicious that a company is compromising the fiscal interests of the state. 

What tax violations can a whistleblower report?
The law uses the general term ‘violation of the law’ concerning the financial interests of the state. Whistleblowers may report an incorrect tax assessment, the application of an incorrect rate or the provision of an untruth in any filing or declaration. In particular, relevant violations that may be reported will include tax fraud – tax evasion, a fictitious overstatement of expenses or a failure to pay taxes. 

A whistleblower may also report such irregularities to the tax office or tax inspection authority. However, companies should strive to ensure that such notifications go primarily to internal organisational units. If the mistake or irregularity is detected quickly, the management will be able to avoid criminal fiscal liability by applying active contrition, correcting the declaration or any other way of avoiding liability under the Fiscal Penal Code. 

What obligations does the employer have?
Any notification must trigger a follow-up action. This could be a tax audit, a financial audit or an investigation, whether carried out internally or by commissioning someone from outside the organisation – such as a tax advisor or lawyer. The whistleblower may not be subject to any retaliation for making a report.

Find more in the PRO HR February 2025.