Kickback
When bribes are called at the present time a form of bribery . This was already known from the Middle Ages and so to smear also means to bribe (smear someone's hand). The word Smeergeld in the sense of bribery is attested in Low German around 1700. Conceptually, bribe can also be understood in the form of any other material benefit.
Up until the 1995 tax year, bribes could be deducted from taxable income as business expenses. Since then, bribes have been part of operating expenses, which are not allowed to reduce profits. Section 4, Paragraph 5, No. 10 of the Income Tax Act states that, among other things, the following operating expenses may not reduce profit:
"the granting of advantages and related expenses, if the granting of the advantages constitutes an illegal act which constitutes the offense of a criminal law or a law that allows punishment with a fine. Courts, public prosecutors or administrative authorities have facts that they have learned officially and who justify the suspicion of an act within the meaning of sentence 1 to notify the tax authorities for purposes of the taxation procedure and for the prosecution of tax offenses and tax offenses. "
An illegal act described here is predominantly understood to be the offense of bribery and bribery in business dealings ( §§ 299 ff. StGB), as well as the granting of benefits ( § 333 StGB) and bribery ( § 334 StGB).
Historical meaning
In the case of the stagecoach in 1812, the bribe was a fixed fee of twelve cruisers that every passenger had to pay. If you don't lubricate the axles regularly , the wheels will seize and there was no progress. Maintenance had to be carried out at every post office . The fee was due for this. The postillon also received a fixed tip . He couldn't be bribed to drive faster because he had to stick to his schedule. Postillons and post keepers were not in the service of individual travelers, but were state officials who would have been punished for taking bribes.
See also
literature
- Michael Burzan: About bribes, highway money and pavement duty ; Ed .: German Society for Postal and Telecommunication History in: Das Archiv , Issue 4/2010; Pp. 16-19
