fynax trend study - E-commerce in the tax check

After almost two years, it was time again for the fynax trend study "E-Commerce in the tax check" (here go to the download). For the third time now, after 2022 and 2023, we have organized the Dealer association surveyed entrepreneurs over the past few months and asked for feedback on cross-border trade in particular. It has become clear that the EU VAT reform of 2021 continues to cause a great deal of effort.

Changes due to the EU sales tax reform

A major aim of the reform was to facilitate international trade by centralizing and simplifying tax registration and settlement in particular. As was already evident in the previous trend study, this goal was clearly missed. In 2023, 73% of respondents stated that the changeover had increased the bureaucratic and administrative burden (44% strongly/significantly increased), whereas in 2025 the figure was more than 80% (59% strongly/significantly increased). This probably also explains the decline in the use of the OSS procedure. Only 51% of participants use OSS in 2025 compared to 71% in 2023. The technical changeover seems to be going more smoothly than two years ago. Back then, 65% of OSS users still saw it as problematic, whereas now 60% have no difficulties with it.

The sluggish digitalization of the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) probably plays a major role in the lack of acceptance. This leads to delays in processing and sometimes generates reminders from foreign tax authorities to traders. In addition, not all stages of the reform have yet been implemented, which is not due to happen until 2028 at the earliest.

Trend towards digitalization

A clear change can be seen when it comes to tax returns. The trend is clearly moving towards digital tax advice. The proportion has increased from 9% (2023) to almost 29% in 2025. This shows that digital affinity has increased significantly, which presumably goes hand in hand with increased digital competence among both entrepreneurs and tax advisors. This is clearly at the expense of traditional tax firms, where the share fell from 70% in 2023 to less than 44%. There was a slight increase in self-prepared tax returns from 24% to 28%.

The advantages of digital tax advice are obvious. It scores points for efficiency, transparency and user-friendliness without compromising the quality of advice. Digital document entry offers clients more flexibility in their everyday lives and video calls allow appointments to be arranged regardless of location. Modern technologies automate routine work and human expertise can be deployed where it is really needed. fynax is taking on a pioneering role here with its highly specialized tax consultants and has developed the perfect system for optimized data integration, with which business results and sales figures from online store systems and marketplaces can be recorded. "We bring together what belongs together - digital commerce and digital tax advice." is how fynax tax consultant Nadja Müller sums it up.

Conclusion

Even four years after the start of the VAT reform, there are still considerable difficulties for entrepreneurs, as the trend study clearly shows. The administrative and bureaucratic burden in particular is a major hurdle and has even increased, causing a lot of frustration. On the other hand, the trend towards more digitalization is positive. The reform is expected to be fully rolled out by the end of 2028 and it remains to be seen whether this will eliminate the existing difficulties.