Democratic participation in danger

In February 2021, the Berlin tax office denied innn.it (formerly change.org) its non-profit status. According to the authorities, the online platform is only allowed to address petitions to government actors in order to serve the non-profit purpose of “general promotion of democratic government” as defined in the German Fiscal Code. This interpretation is based on a cross-state agreement between the tax authorities which, in our opinion, cannot be supported by either non-profit law or the German Basic Law. Petitions to non-state actors such as large corporations from Nestlé or VW would therefore only be permitted in return for a fee or would have to be deleted. The division into state and non-state actors promotes a dangerous understanding of democracy that attacks the very foundations of non-profit petition platforms. Their task is to strengthen the democratic awareness and political effectiveness of citizens. This is not possible with this restrictive approach by the tax office. As part of the alliance "Legal Certainty for Political Will Formation", we are taking action with innn.it to protect the non-profit status of petition platforms.

In March 2021, we already explained in a comprehensive statement (in German) why the withdrawal of the non-profit status of politically active civil society actors poses a major threat to democracy.

Appeal before the Federal Fiscal Court

In December 2023, the tax office lodged an appeal against the decision of the Berlin-Brandenburg Fiscal Court. The court ruled in favor of innn.it in November 2023: A broad understanding of the norm is needed, which also includes criticism of corporations. According to the decision, associations should be recognized as non-profit organizations if they promote the exercise of fundamental rights and general democratic participation. Together with innn.it, represented by the law firm Schomerus, we advocated for the recognition of non-profit status in the appeal hearing before the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH).

Narrowing of the purpose by the Federal Fiscal Court

In its ruling dated December 12, 2024 (case no. V R 28/23), the BFH overturned the ruling of the Berlin-Brandenburg Fiscal Court and referred the case back for a new decision. In its decision, the BFH defined the charitable purpose of “general promotion of the democratic state” much more narrowly than the lower court and thus further restricts civic engagement.

According to the court, petitions to non-state actors are not inadmissible per se. However, an online platform may only promote petitions that are related to the exercise of government authority - in other words, they must concern issues that can be dealt with in parliament. The mere promotion of the exercise of fundamental rights such as freedom of expression is not covered by the purpose. Petitions that relate exclusively to private disputes, such as the termination of a tenancy agreement between private individuals or a call for a boycott of a company, are therefore excluded. Finally, all concerns must be supported in a politically neutral manner and without any assessment of their content.

Renunciation of non-profit status

As a result of this decision, innn.it decided on June 18, 2025 to discontinue the legal proceedings and renounce its non-profit status. They believe that their activities are too severely restricted by the BFH's ruling and are therefore deliberately foregoing the tax benefits in order to have more scope for their democratic commitment.

Attac ruling causes uncertainty in non-profit law

The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) denied the globalization-critical organization Attac its non-profit status back in 2019. The BFH justified this by stating that Attac was too politically active and was therefore pursuing political aims that were not covered by non-profit law. In doing so, the court severely restricted the political scope for action of associations that provide political education. With the requirement that political education work must be “intellectually open”, the BFH has provided the tax authorities with a very vague standard. This in turn leads to some very restrictive interpretations, as our proceedings with the Demokratisches Zentrum Ludwigsburg (DemoZ) show. The BFH's decision has increased uncertainty in civil society as to the extent to which associations may engage in political activities without losing their non-profit status.

For a strong civil society

Our support in the innn.it case is part of our work to strengthen the scope of action of non-profit associations. We regret the restrictive decision of the Federal Fiscal Court and its consequences for civil society engagement. We are continuing our efforts to reform the law on non-profit organizations, which takes sufficient account of civil society's commitment to democracy. Back in August 2021, we submitted a draft bill for a law to strengthen democracy so that the federal government can modernize the outdated non-profit law. While a reform is a long time coming, we are supporting politically engaged associations with a comprehensive range of information from “How to Civil Society” to protect their non-profit status.