Roger Williams

To HMRC and Gary It seems that what Gary says is correct and it raises concerns for me in that I assumed that the DTA was a reciprocal agreement German citizens in the foreign income section of their tax return do not have to declare their income instead they have to tick a box indicating they receive a Government Pension from Germany and are invited to give some details of the nature of that pension in the space provided. In Germany the UK pension is not directly taxed but your pension income is used in a calculation to arrive at a new assessment of your income tax paid on your German income which in my case means higher income tax in Germany as a result. Firstly I think this this disappointing, (a common euphemism used in the UK by politicians when election results are not good - much "disappointment on the horizon I think) in that although this may be in the letter of the DTA but it is not in its spirit. Secondly I would suggest that HMRC needs to consider whether this difference in treatment between UK and German nationals is something that needs closer examination. Certainly I feel there needs to be much more publicity given to the situation facing UK nationals choosing to live and work in Germany than is currently available. From my research I discovered that under this reciprocal agreement UK Government Pensions were not taxed in Germany and that German nationals were not required to declare their Government Pension in the UK.

I am a UK national living and now retired in Germany and I am in receipt of a UK Government Teachers' pension and I pay my tax to the UK Government. In these circumstances can my UK Government Pension be taken into account by the German tax authorities to determine how much tax I pay in Germany?