Lesson 1 - Although the majority of the public associates ELSTER with electronic tax returns only, the project's technical developments are for the most part neutral in terms of application and allow for all kinds of information to be transmitted. Return on investment: Not applicable / Not available Taxpayers, companies and tax advisors in Germany are able to dispatch their provisional VAT return, wages tax return and the electronic request of the internal tax accounts for themselves or their clients online without installation of special software. Besides this the browser-solution can be used free of barriers, independant of installed software, platform and location. VAT, wages tax return), inbox for messages, user-profiles for master data and a task-management. There the tax administration offers an easy online-registration, free online hand-out of electronic certificates (certified by the own ELSTER-trustcenter), online tax forms (e.g.

With the ElsterOnline-Portal, the Bavarian Head Office for Taxes - leading the developement of ELSTER - realised an online-tax-office. The new authentication is user-friendly, simple and does not cause any costs for the user - the ElsterOnline-Portal.

Therefore ELSTER implemented a new function for online-registration and -authentication to identify the transmitter without using expensive and complicated digital signatures. Nevertheless the safety of eGovernment in taxation must be performed at the highest level of savety for the citizen and the state administration. Description of the way to implement the initiativeĭue to the success story and the wide spread of ELSTER in Germany, the tax administration followed the wish of the citizens to abstain from the personal signature. The popularity within the group of private individuals is rising steadily (doubles every year), reaching 20% in 2005. Nearly 90% of all German companies use ELSTER, while around 20% of the private individuals use it for their income tax returns. Since 1999 the method ELSTER (ELektronische STeuerERklaerung = electronic tax return) offers to all taxpayers, companies and tax advisors in Germany the electronic transmission of various tax returns and declarations via internet.

Aktivierung elster online portal