Privacy Policy

With the following privacy policy, we would like to inform you about how we process your personal data (hereinafter also referred to as "data") in the context of our services for the preparation of your tax return. According to Art. 4 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), personal data is any data that can be personally related to you, e.g., your name, your address, or your email address. With regard to the other terms used below, such as "Controller" or "Processor," we refer to the further definitions in Art. 4 GDPR.

The terms used in this privacy policy are not gender-specific.

I. Name and Address of the Controller

The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation and other data protection regulations is:

Lapis Law and Tax Berufsausübungsgesellschaft mbH

Köpenicker Str. 122

10179 Berlin

info@Lapis-Kanzlei.de

II. Contact Person

You can reach us for all questions regarding this privacy policy and the processing of your data at: info@Lapis-Kanzlei.de

III. General Information on Data Processing

1. Scope of the processing of personal data

As a general rule, we only process your personal data to the extent necessary for the provision of our services or if you have given us your consent to the processing. An exception applies only in cases where the processing of data is permitted by law based on our legitimate interests. We will inform you separately about these cases.

2. Type of data processed

When you engage us, we process the following personal data in particular as part of our activities:

Master data (e.g., name, address, contact information such as email, telephone number, and internet address),
Tax data (e.g., marital status, employment, religious affiliation, profession, employer, data from the income tax certificate or the last payslip, secondary residence, responsible tax office, tax identification number, various expenses, income from capital assets and other sources, insurance, medical costs, disabilities, personal data of persons living in the household, donations, church tax, household-related expenses or maintenance payments to third parties, and tax loss carryforwards. Such tax-relevant information may also include particularly "sensitive personal data," such as data concerning your health, any care expenses, information about religious affiliation with regard to church tax paid, or information about trade union membership.)
Consulting and activity data (e.g., content of inquiries, consultation documentation, documents, file notes, legal and specifically tax-law assessments, proof of services, billing, as well as other information necessary for the assertion and defense of your rights within the scope of the engagement),
Other engagement-related data (e.g., contracts, communication, booking receipts, evidence, invoices, service, remuneration, and liability data, as well as data that you voluntarily provide to us within the scope of the engagement relationship).

3. Legal basis for the processing of personal data

Insofar as we obtain your consent for the processing of personal data, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR serves as the legal basis.

When processing personal data that we require to fulfill a contract with you, Art. 6(1)(b) and Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR serve as the legal basis. This also applies to processing operations that are necessary for carrying out pre-contractual measures.

Insofar as the processing of personal data is necessary to fulfill a legal obligation to which we are subject, Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR serves as the legal basis.

In the unlikely event that your vital interests or those of another person require the processing of your data, Art. 6(1)(d) GDPR serves as the legal basis.

If the processing is necessary to protect our legitimate interests or those of a third party, and your interests, fundamental rights, and freedoms do not override this interest, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR serves as the legal basis for the processing.

4. Data deletion and storage duration

Your data processed by us will be deleted in accordance with legal requirements as soon as the purpose for its processing has been achieved or has ceased to exist, or you withdraw your consent required for the processing. If the data is not deleted because it is required for other and legally permissible purposes, its processing will be restricted to these purposes. Storage beyond this period may also occur if this has been provided for by the European or national legislator in regulations, laws, or other provisions to which we are subject. This is the case, for example, if the data must be retained for commercial or tax law reasons or if its storage is necessary for the assertion, exercise, or defense of legal claims or for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person.

Insofar as our privacy policy contains further information on the retention and deletion of data, these shall apply with priority for the respective processing operations.

IV. How we process your data in detail

1. Identification and verification under the Anti-Money Laundering Act

As a professional practice company, we are subject to the requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG) in accordance with § 2 para. 1 no. 10 of the GwG. For legal reasons, the preparation of the tax return requires, in particular, your unambiguous identification as a taxpayer. We are also obliged, among other things, to request information regarding your identity, the beneficial owners, the purpose and nature of the business relationship and transactions carried out, as well as the money laundering risk.

To verify reliability under anti-money laundering law, we check and store identity information (such as first name, last name, place of birth, date of birth, addresses, nationality) as well as information from identity documents (e.g., personal ID card or passport with registration certificate) for the purpose of unambiguous identification and as proof of identity. To fulfill our obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering Act in accordance with § 8 para. 2 sentence 1 of the GwG, we store a copy of one of your official identification documents.

The aforementioned data regarding your identity may also be transmitted to our partner Veriff OÜ (“Veriff”), Niine 11, Tallinn, 10414, Estonia, for the purpose of anti-money laundering identification. In this case, Veriff carries out the anti-money laundering identification on our behalf.

Furthermore, the identity information is used to check you for increased risks regarding money laundering or terrorist financing (comparison of the data with relevant sanctions lists of the EU, USA, and Interpol, lists of “politically exposed persons”, official publications on supervisory measures or criminal sanctions against a person).

2. Retrieval of your tax data (Tax Retrieval)

You have the option to pre-fill your tax return with certain information that is electronically reported to the tax authorities by your employer and the responsible social security office and is stored by the tax authorities ("Pre-fill Data"). You can automatically transfer this data into your tax return.

For us to be able to carry out the document retrieval for you via our Tax Retrieval service, you must expressly authorize us.

From the time of our engagement, we will retrieve your Pre-fill Data from the servers of the tax administration via a secure internet connection (SSL/HTTPS). Further information on the security and encryption methods of ELSTER can be found here. As soon as we have received your Pre-fill Data via ELSTER, we will store it on our servers so that this data can be directly transferred into your tax return. In doing so, we use the technical support of Taxfix GmbH, Köpenicker Str. 122, 10179 Berlin (hereinafter "Taxfix").

In accordance with your instructions, we also make the data available in your Taxfix user account so that it can be used there as the basis for your tax return.

The legal bases for the processing of your Pre-fill Data are Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of a contract) and Art. 6(1)(a), Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR (consent) for the processing of your sensitive personal data (e.g., regarding religious beliefs) that may be contained in your Pre-fill Data.

3. Preparation of your tax return

Within your Taxfix account, you have the option to confirm by clicking accordingly that you are interested in having the tax return prepared by us. If you confirm your interest in this way, we will ask you questions about your personal situation via the Taxfix app, on the basis of which you will receive a list of documents that we need to prepare your tax return. With the help of the questions and documents, the tax data described above, among other things, will be collected. The legal basis for the processing of this information is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of pre-contractual measures). If your information includes sensitive personal data, the legal basis in this regard is your consent, which we will obtain separately in this case (Art. 6(1)(a), Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR).

Insofar as an engagement agreement is concluded between us, you instruct us to use all of your tax data available in the Taxfix app for the preparation of your tax data and to transmit the final draft of the tax return to Taxfix in order to make the tax return available directly in your Taxfix user account. The legal basis for the processing of this information is Art. 6(1)(b), Art. 6(1)(a), Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR (performance of the contract, consent).

As soon as you have approved the tax return, Taxfix will submit the tax return to the responsible tax authority via an interface to the ELSTER software. Details on this can be found in the Taxfix privacy policy https://taxfix.de/datenschutz/. You can direct your related inquiries to privacy@taxfix.de. The legal basis for the processing of your tax data described in this section is Art. 6(1)(b), Art. 6(1)(a), Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR (performance of the contract, consent).

Further information on data processing via the ELSTER software of the tax authorities can be found in the brochure provided by them here.

Your tax data is also stored by us to further optimize and simplify your tax return for the next year. Taking into account the statutory deadlines for filing your tax return (§ 46 para. 2 no. 8 EStG, § 169 para. 2 no. 2 AO), we also store your tax data fully encrypted in our database for a period of 10 years after submission to the tax authority. Afterwards, the data is completely anonymized.

4. Consultation via Video Call

Within your Taxfix account, you have the option to confirm by clicking accordingly that you are interested in a consultation via video call with us. If you confirm your interest in this way, we will give you the opportunity via the Taxfix app to provide information and ask questions in advance to help us prepare for the telephone consultation. These questions and details may include the tax data described above. The legal basis for the processing of this information is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of pre-contractual measures). If your information includes sensitive personal data, the legal basis in this regard is your consent, which we will obtain separately in this case (Art. 6(1)(a), Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR).

Insofar as a contractual relationship is established between us, you instruct us to use all of your tax data that may be available in the Taxfix app for the telephone consultation. The legal basis for the processing of this information is Art. 6(1)(b), Art. 6(1)(a), Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR (performance of the contract, consent).

If a final report is created after the conclusion of the consultation via video call, it will be transmitted to Taxfix, giving you the opportunity to retrieve the final report in the Taxfix app (alternatively, the report will be sent to you via email). Insofar as we should answer further questions following the consultation, we will make them available to you via the Taxfix app (alternately, the report will be sent to you via email) or by call. The legal basis for the processing of your tax data described in this section is Art. 6(1)(b), Art. 6(1)(a), Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR (performance of the contract, consent).

Further information on data processing within the Taxfix app can be found in the Taxfix privacy policy at https://taxfix.de/datenschutz/. You can direct your related inquiries to privacy@taxfix.de.

V. Disclosure of your data

Your data will only be transmitted to third parties on your instruction or with your consent. Within the scope of the engagement relationship, we will, for example, pass on your data to tax authorities and courts. If you instruct us to do so, we will also pass on your data to Taxfix so that you can complete your tax return in the Taxfix app or submit it to the tax authorities.

In addition, we use processors (e.g., data centers, IT service providers, customer support providers, printing service providers), whose services we only use insofar as they are obliged as contributing persons to maintain our professional secrecy pursuant to § 203 para. 3 of the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch) and the professional regulations to which we are subject are observed.

A disclosure may also occur due to legal provisions, for example, to report suspicious cases under the Anti-Money Laundering Act to the competent authority. The legal basis for the disclosure in this respect is, for example, Art. 6(1) sentence 1 lit. c GDPR in conjunction with § 43 GwG.

A data transfer to third countries (states outside the European Economic Area - EEA) only takes place insofar as this is necessary for the execution of the engagement agreement, you have given us your consent, or it is otherwise legally permitted. In this case, we take measures to ensure the protection of your data, for example, through contractual arrangements with the data recipient (so-called Standard Contractual Clauses). We only transfer your data to recipients who ensure the protection of your data in accordance with the provisions of the GDPR for transfers to third countries (Art. 44 to 49 GDPR).

VI. Your data protection rights

As a data subject, you have the right to information (Art. 15 GDPR), rectification (Art. 16 GDPR), erasure (Art. 17 GDPR), restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR) of your personal data, as well as the right to data portability (Art. 20 GDPR). In addition, you have the right to withdraw any consent given at any time with effect for the future. Depending on the scope of our engagement, a withdrawal may, however, mean that you can no longer use all of our services or that we are prevented from completing your tax return.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data if the processing is based on our legitimate interests.

To exercise your rights, please contact info@Lapis-Kanzlei.de

You have the option to lodge a complaint against the processing of your personal data with the competent supervisory authority.

A list of the competent authorities can be found here.

VII. Updating this Privacy Policy

We ask you to regularly inform yourself about the content of our privacy policy. We reserve the right to adapt this privacy policy as soon as changes in the data processing we carry out or other circumstances make this necessary. Should the changes require an act of cooperation on your part, we will inform you about this separately (e.g., consent).

Insofar as we refer to addresses and contact details of other companies or organizations in this privacy policy, we ask you to note that the addresses may change over time and ask you to check the details before contacting them.

Version: Version 2.0 / July 2025