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submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by qaz@lemmy.world to c/polandball@lemmy.world
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[-] cronenthal@discuss.tchncs.de 21 points 3 months ago

Except it's not true, I did my German taxes fully digitally last year, it's very much encouraged.

[-] Lumidaub@feddit.org 8 points 3 months ago

Not like that makes it any easier though and also not on your phone, no? I couldn't imagine using Elster on my phone.

[-] saimen@feddit.org 4 points 3 months ago

I used to do it on my phone with an app called steuerbot. Very convenient. It's simply a chatbot that asks you all the stuff it needs to know and then fills out the forms accordingly and sends them digitally via an Elster connection. Completely sufficient for regular taxes when you are not self employed.

[-] Lumidaub@feddit.org 6 points 3 months ago

I've tried one of those a couple of times, in different stages in my life, and every time I got "this is too complicated, do it on your own". No idea why, I've never been self-employed. I also don't know if it's such a good idea to encourage that whole Steuerberatung industry instead of providing an official usable solution.

[-] Ephera@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 months ago
[-] Lumidaub@feddit.org 2 points 3 months ago

Even my laptop isn't large enough for Adult Purchases, it has to be the desktop.

Yeah. I haven't handled paper for my taxes in so many years.

[-] saimen@feddit.org 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Yeah taxes are the one thing that work really well digitally in Germany

[-] Ephera@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 months ago

do taxes

In German, we call it "die Einkommenssteuererklärung machen" and I think that's beautiful.

🫠

[-] Sakychu@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)
[-] qaz@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Comic creator added that for some reason and I didn't spot it

[-] Sakychu@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

I'm guessing it was meant to be edgy and it fit from the meaning, but a lot of people suffered horribly under that.

But yeah, Germany really dropped the ball on going digital. I recently had an appointment at a government agency to discuss something, and the worker was complaining and apologizing that he could barely see me behind all of his new monitors and how he wished he had his paperwork back

My favorite story has to be either that when the position of a Internet Minister was first proposed it was created under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Transport since you also call it "Data highway" so naturally it was related to cars and highways

Or the time the ministry slowed down the development of making Germany more digital and instead focus on investing into flying taxis

[-] qaz@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I’m guessing it was meant to be edgy and it fit from the meaning, but a lot of people suffered horribly under that.

Yes, it's probably meant to be “edgy”. I think some people need more history lessons. I removed the poster, did the edit federate?

But yeah, Germany really dropped the ball on going digital. I recently had an appointment at a government agency to discuss something, and the worker was complaining and apologizing that he could barely see me behind all of his new monitors and how he wished he had his paperwork back

I'm from the Netherlands and there was a massive hack recently which made them disconnect their networks from the internet so I can relate.

My favorite story has to be either that when the position of a Internet Minister was first proposed it was created under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Transport since you also call it “Data highway” so naturally it was related to cars and highways

🤣 It's grouped with kingdom relations here for some reason.

Or the time the ministry slowed down the development of making Germany more digital and instead focus on investing into flying taxis

Ouch

[-] Lumidaub@feddit.org 3 points 3 months ago

Self-deprecating joke. We may not SAY "Arbeit macht frei" but that doesn't mean there isn't a sizable group of people who think "if you don't work, you don't deserve a nice life". Also, this is polandball, it's tradition.

[-] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 3 points 3 months ago

What part of it is nazi rhetoric?

[-] Sakychu@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

"Arbeit macht frei" was and is usually found on a sign on top of gates the concentration camps, since they typically were forced to perform labor under horrid conditions. The most infamous one with a sign was called Auschwitz. Originally used for prisoner of war from Poland, the nazi soon built Auschwitz II-Birkenau in 1942 where 700 people could simultaneously killed but you would be locked up on the killing chamber for up to a week, with no food and water, until it was "worth it" to kill enough people at once...

[-] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 3 points 3 months ago

There isn't "arbeit macht frei" on the comic though.

[-] Sakychu@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

The poster kindly edited it out

[-] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 5 points 3 months ago

Ah OK, so I haven't completely lost it yet. Thanks.

[-] qaz@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I didn't see it at first but @Sakychu@lemmy.world pointed it out and I removed it.

this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
80 points (100.0% liked)

Polandball

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Wiggly mouse-drawn comics where balls represent different countries. They poke fun at national stereotypes and the "international drama" of their diplomatic relations. Polandball combines history, geography, Engrish, and an inferiority complex.

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