Statutes of the Lohnsteuerhilfeverein Stuttgart - Bad Cannstatt e.V.

§ 1 Name, seat and field of activity

The association bears the name Lohnsteuerhilfeverein Stuttgart - Bad Cannstatt e.V.
It shall be entered in the register of associations and thereafter bear the suffix "e.V."
The association and its management have their registered office in Stuttgart - Bad Cannstatt, Waiblinger Str. 9 and thus in the district of the Karlsruhe Upper Finance Directorate. The working area of the association is the area of application of the Basic Law

§ 2 Purpose of the Association

The Association is a self-help organisation of employees. Its purpose is exclusively to provide assistance in tax matters within the scope of its authority under section 4 no. 11 of the Tax Consultancy Act. It is not geared to commercial business operations and is therefore an ideal association within the meaning of section 21 of the German Civil Code (BGB).
The activities of the association further include the representation of the member in appeal proceedings before tax authorities and tax courts.

§ 3 Members

Any employee in the area of work of the association who is entitled to be advised by the association according to section 2 of the statutes may become a member. Other persons may become members if their membership contributes to the realisation of the legally defined purpose of the Association.

§ 4 Commencement of membership

Membership must be declared in writing. Before submitting the declaration of membership, all those wishing to join shall be provided with a copy of the statutes and the scale of subscriptions, which shall be handed out on request after joining. By joining the Association, the member accepts the Statutes.
The Executive Committee may refuse membership. If the Executive Committee does not object to the application for membership of a person wishing to join within one month, membership shall be deemed to have been confirmed.

§ 5 Termination of membership

Membership shall be terminated by voluntary resignation, exclusion, deletion from the membership list or death

Resignation is only possible at the end of each financial year (ordinary resignation). In the event of an increase in membership fees, there shall be an extraordinary right of resignation. The resignation must be declared in writing to the Executive Board with a notice period of three months before the end of the respective business year, in the case of an extraordinary resignation three months before the increased membership fee applies.
A member may be expelled from the Association if it has grossly violated the Statutes or the reputation of the Association or its members. The Executive Committee shall decide on the exclusion in writing, stating the reasons, after having heard the member. The member has the right to lodge an objection in writing with the Executive Board against the Executive Board's decision to exclude within one month of receipt. The next general meeting shall decide on the objection.
A member may be deleted from the membership list by decision of the Executive Committee if he/she is in arrears with the payment of membership fees despite two written reminders. The deletion may only be decided if at least one month has elapsed after the second reminder has been sent and the deletion has been threatened in this reminder. After termination of membership, all rights and obligations towards the association expire. This does not apply to any liability claims according to § 15 of the statutes. At the same time, the former member is automatically relieved of all offices held within the Association.

§ 6 Rights and Duties of Members

Membership of the Association entitles the member to be advised by the Association in accordance with the Association's Statutes. The member is obliged to hand over to the Association all documents necessary for the consultation and to provide information.
Each member may participate in the general meeting with the right to vote.
The member is obliged to pay the membership fee in accordance with § 7.
A claim to distribution of the Association's assets does not exist.

§ 7 Membership fee

A uniform annual membership fee and a one-off admission fee shall be charged. The annual membership fee shall be graduated downwards from a social point of view.
The admission fee and the first annual membership fee shall be paid upon joining the Association. Subsequent fees shall be due for payment in advance on 31 January of each year.
The amount of the admission fee and the annual membership fee shall be regulated in a scale of fees, which shall require the approval of the General Assembly. Amendments to the Rules of Contribution shall also be approved by the General Assembly. Amended or new Rules of Contribution shall be notified to the members four months before the date from which they are to apply.
In addition, no special fee shall be charged for assistance in tax matters within the meaning of § 2 of the Statutes.

§ 8 Fiscal year

The financial year is the calendar year.

§ 9 Organs of the Association

The organs of the Association are the General Assembly and the Executive Committee. Only members of the Association may belong to an organ of the Association.

§ 10 General Assembly

The General Assembly is the supreme body of the Association. Each member has one vote at the meeting.
The General Assembly shall be held at least once a year. It shall be convened by the Executive Committee. The meeting shall be convened in writing with at least two weeks' notice, stating the agenda, the venue and the date. The supervisory authority shall be notified at the same time. The invitation letter shall be sent to each member individually and shall be deemed to have been received if it is addressed to the last address given by the member
The Executive Board shall convene a General Assembly of Members within 3 months of the notification to the members of the essential content of the findings of the audit (Article 13, Paragraph 1 of these Statutes), at which in particular a discussion shall be held on the results of the audit and a decision shall be taken on the discharge of the Executive Board during the audited financial year.
At the request of at least 20% of all members, the Executive Board shall convene an extraordinary General Assembly within a period of four weeks.
The agenda shall be set by the Executive Committee. Each member may request in writing that the agenda be supplemented at the latest one week before the General Assembly. The chairman of the meeting shall announce the addition to the agenda at the beginning of the general meeting. The meeting shall decide on requests for additions to the agenda made at the general meeting.
The General Assembly shall be chaired by the Chairperson. If no member of the Executive Committee is present, the meeting shall appoint the chairman of the meeting. The manner of voting shall be decided by the chairman of the meeting. Voting must be in writing if 1/3 of the members present and entitled to vote so request.
Resolutions of the General Assembly shall be passed by a simple majority of the members present, without prejudice to the provisions of § 33 of the German Civil Code (amendment of the Statutes, change of purpose of the Association). Any General Assembly duly convened shall constitute a quorum.
Minutes shall be kept of the resolutions of the General Assembly of Members and shall be signed by the keeper of the minutes and the chairman of the meeting. A list of all participants in the General Assembly shall be attached to the minutes.
The General Assembly is exclusively responsible for the following matters
- Election and dismissal of members of the Executive Committee
- Acceptance of the annual report of the Executive Committee
- Discussion of the results of the audit
- Discharge of the Executive Board
- Approval of the subscription rules

Approval of contracts concluded by the Association with members of the Executive Board or their relatives Adoption of resolutions on the amendment of the Statutes and the dissolution of the Association.

§ 11 Executive Board

The Executive Board in the sense of § 26 BGB (German Civil Code) consists of the Chairperson and two Vice-Chairpersons.
The Chairperson shall have sole power of representation. The deputy chairpersons shall be jointly authorised to represent the Association.
The Executive Committee shall be elected by the General Assembly for a period of 5 years.
The election of the members of the Executive Board is revocable prematurely in case of an important reason according to § 27 paragraph 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB). However, they shall remain in office until a new Executive Committee has been elected. Re-election is permitted.
The Executive Board shall pass its resolutions by simple majority.
Members of the Executive Board may receive a tax-free expense allowance for voluntary work within the meaning of § 3 No. 26a EStG (German Income Tax Act) for their activities up to an amount of € 500.00 per year. Proven higher expenses and costs incurred by a Board member in the performance of his or her duties may be reimbursed in an appropriate manner.
If a member of the Executive Board is employed by the Association as Managing Director or Counselling Centre Manager, the amount of the remuneration to be paid shall require the approval of the General Assembly. The Executive Board is not exempt from the provisions of § 181 BGB.
Sections 664 to 670 BGB shall apply to the management of the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall in particular perform the following duties:
- Management and supervision of the current and extraordinary business of the Association
- Appointment of a managing director in the sense of § 30 BGB, if the executive board does not manage the association's business itself.
- Establishment and operation of counselling centres and their supervision within the meaning of Article 14 of the Statutes
- Announcement of the auditor's report and convening of the General Assembly of Members
- Implementation of the resolutions of the General Assembly
- Fulfilment of the obligations arising from the Tax Consultancy Act vis-à-vis the supervisory authorities.

§ 12 Amendments to the Statutes

The Statutes may only be amended at a General Meeting to which special notice has been given of the intention to amend the Statutes.
Amendments to the Statutes require a majority of 3/4 of the members present.
The consent of all members is required to amend the purpose of the Association. The consent of the members not present must be given in writing.

§ 13 Obligations towards the supervisory authority

The Executive Committee shall The Executive Committee shall fulfil the obligations of the Association towards the supervisory authority arising from the Tax Consultancy Act. This concerns in particular the following:

The association shall have the completeness and correctness of the records and the statement of assets and liabilities as well as the conformity of the actual management with the statutory tasks of the Lohnsteuerhilfeverein audited annually by one or more business auditors within six months after the end of the business year.
Only the following may be appointed as auditors
a) persons and companies authorised to provide unlimited assistance in tax matters
b) Auditing associations whose statutory purpose includes the regular or extraordinary auditing of members, if at least one legal representative of the association is a tax adviser, tax agent, lawyer, established European lawyer, auditor or sworn auditor.
Persons in respect of whom there is concern about bias or the possibility of a conflict of interests, in particular because they are members of the Board, special representatives or employees of the Association, may not be auditors. This also applies to persons who advise or support the association organisationally or economically, who look after members of the association or who have done all this during the audit period or who have assisted in keeping the books or drawing up the documents to be audited.
Within one month after receipt of the audit report, but no later than nine months after the end of the business year, the association shall forward a copy thereof to the competent higher tax authority and within six months after receipt of the audit report shall notify all members in writing of the essential content of the audit findings.
The association shall notify the competent supervisory authority of any amendment to the articles of association within one month of the adoption of the resolution. The supervisory authority shall be informed of forthcoming general meetings at least two weeks in advance.
The authorised representatives of the association shall notify the competent supervisory authorities of the information required for entry or deletion in the register of income tax assistance associations within two weeks in accordance with sections 7 DVLStHV and 30 StBerG.

§ 14 Counselling of members

Advice to members shall only be given in advice centres as defined in § 23 StBerG. Assistance in tax matters shall only be provided by persons who belong to an advisory centre. All persons employed by the Association to provide assistance in tax matters shall be required to comply with the duties set out in these Statutes. A head shall be appointed for each advice centre; he/she may only manage one other advice centre at the same time. The head of the advice centre shall exercise professional supervision over the persons working in the advice centre.
Only persons who fulfil the requirements of § 23, paragraph 3, nos. 2 or 3 of the StBerG may be appointed head of an advice centre. This shall not apply to persons authorised to provide unrestricted assistance in tax matters. Any person who has behaved in such a way as to give rise to the concern that he or she will not fulfil the duties of the income tax assistance association may not be appointed as an advice centre manager.
The hand files on the assistance in tax matters of the members shall be kept for a period of ten years after the conclusion of the association's activity in the member's tax matter. However, this obligation shall lapse before the end of this period if the association requests the member to take receipt of the hand file and the member has not complied with this request within three months of receiving it. The provisions made in laws other than the Tax Consultancy Act concerning the obligation to keep business records shall remain unaffected.

§ 15 Exclusion of liability, liability insurance

In the case of assistance in tax matters for members, the liability of the association for the fault of its organs and employees cannot be excluded.
For the liability risks arising from the assistance in tax matters (e.g. consulting errors, loss of processing documents), the association shall take out a pecuniary loss liability insurance in an appropriate amount. Pursuant to § 10 DVLStHV, the minimum sum insured for a single insured event must be EUR 50,000.00 and any agreed annual maximum amount must be at least EUR 200,000.00 for all damages caused in the insurance year. The agreement of an excess of up to EUR 300.00 is permissible. The competent authority within the meaning of § 117 para. 2 of the Insurance Contract Act is the Karlsruhe Regional Finance Office.
A member's claim for damages arising from the legal relationship between him/her and the Association shall become time-barred three years from the end of the year in which the claim arose.

§ 16 Dissolution of the Association, liquidation

The dissolution of the Association may only be decided at a General Meeting convened separately for this purpose. This requires a 3/4 majority of the members present. However, the Association cannot be dissolved if at least seven of the members present object to the dissolution.
Unless the General Assembly decides otherwise, the members of the Executive Committee are jointly authorised liquidators.
At the request of the Chairperson, before voting on the dissolution of the Association and the use of the Association's assets, a resolution shall be passed to appoint a representative to handle pending tax matters in accordance with § 24 StBerG and to keep the hand files in accordance with § 26 paragraph 4 StBerG.
In the event of the dissolution of the Association, the remaining assets shall be forfeited to a charitable institution after liquidation has been carried out. The beneficiary shall be decided separately at the general meeting.

§ 17 Jurisdiction

The place of jurisdiction shall be the registered office of the Association.
The place of performance shall in any case be Stuttgart - Bad Cannstatt. § 18 Final clause Should parts of these Statutes be or become invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts of the Statutes.

§ 18 Final clause

Should parts of these Statutes be or become invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts of the Statutes.