Financial authorities need a responsible financial institution through which all necessary transactions, such as tax payments, can be processed reliably.

For years, this was the savings bank for many of the authorities. The recent abolition of free accounts for these same customers is accompanied by an exodus.

The introduction of fees for previously free accounts is rarely met with a positive response: “However, these […] exceed the budget available to the tax office. “That’s why the account unfortunately had to be closed,” the “Handelsblatt” quotes the Heidenheim tax office and the Kreissparkasse Heidenheim, which then ended their collaboration.

The authority is following a current trend that numerous other financial authorities have already followed in recent years.

According to “Handelsblatt”, many of them are in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. But, for example, the Pforzheim tax office in Baden-Württemberg also left the bank in the summer of 2023.

However, the focus of such decisions is not only on the aspect of cost savings. Tax offices also change because they can.

With your account at the Deutsche Bundesbank you always have a free alternative that you can rely on in such cases.

When asked by the “Handelsblatt” it was explained that the Bundesbank Act even requires that no fees be charged.

And quite traditionally, various accounts have long been maintained here for a large number of tax offices. Some authorities have always used the services of the Deutsche Bundesbank exclusively.

For individuals and companies, something important can change when the responsible tax office changes bank. This is accompanied by a new IBAN connection from the authority.

Anyone who makes their own transfers or has set up a standing order should pay attention to relevant announcements. Only in the case of direct debit transactions does everything remain as it was.

Sources: Handelsblatt

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The original for this article “Tax offices separate from savings banks: “Unfortunately, the account had to be closed”” comes from futurezone.de.