Red Tape Translation

Category Archive: Being self-employed

My New Home

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I have a confession to make. I applied to join the Factory some months ago, and my application was rejected… I sulked for a week. It was probably just bad timing, but the Factory Berlin was never far from my mind. I ran into a few friends who flaunted their coveted memberships and got a hot tip from one of them – I should reapply, as they’ve just opened a brand new building, and the timing is golden.

I sent off a killer application, added a healthy dose of Vitamin B, and within a week, I got the green light!

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What’s the Difference Between the German Tax ID Number and the Freelance Tax Number?

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You say Steuernummer and I say Steuer-ID-Nummer,

You say Umsatz-ID-Nummer and I say Sozialversicherungsnummer.

Steuernummer, StIDNr, UStID-Nr, SV-Nummer, let’s call the whole thing off.

Hmm. Not really an option. So instead, I’ll take you through it simply, carefully and lovingly. I wish everyone would sing songs about tax.

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Freelance Teachers in Germany Must Pay into the Pension Fund

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There’s an old law from 1913 that will interest you if you’re a freelance teacher in Germany. It’s from §2 of Book 6 of the German Social Code, it covers the Statutory Pension System in Germany, and it goes a little something like this:

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