When free occupations or free occupation become occupations designation, which are not subject to the trade and industrial regulations.

A character of the free occupations

The free occupations cover generally on the basis of special vocational qualification or creative gift the personal, solely responsible and technically independent contribution of services of higher kind in the interest of the clients and the public.

A member of a free occupation is freelance active also if he avails himself of the assistance of technically trained workers. A condition is that it becomes due to own expertise leading and solely responsible active. An agency in the case of temporary prevention does not oppose the acceptance of a leading and solely responsible activity.

Not to the free occupations belong e.g. the practice of a trade, a land and Forstwirt, the administration of own fortune or the independent practice of an occupation, which does not fall under the definition of a free occupation, e.g. Lightrather.

The status of the freelanceness can be void, if a self-employed person achieves primarily commercial achievements. To it belong for example the sales of goods (for example with pharmacists). A finance company becomes independent, of their economic activity, never when self-employed person treats.

Occupations of catalog and similar occupations

Occupations of catalog in accordance with "§ 18 EStG and/or "§ 1 PartGG are: the independently exercised scientific, artistic, literary, informing or educational activity as well as similar occupations.

Into the legal occupation

• Attorney and patent lawyer

Into the occupation of welfare

• Physician
• Psychological Psychotherapeut
• Dentist
• Veterinary surgeon
• Welfare practical man
• Midwife
• Physiotherapeut/Krankengymnast

Into the creative occupation

• Artists (screen end and representing)
• Director
• Choreograf
• Designer

Into the journalistic occupation

• Journalist/reporter
• Video journalist/photo journalist (picture correspondent)
• Interpreter/translator

Into the commercial and educational occupation

• Lecturer, educator and teacher (not driving teacher, dance teacher, dipping teacher etc.)
• Advisory operating and political economist
• Tax counsel
• Tax representative
• Chartered accoutant
• Accountant (more sworn in)
• Management consultant
• Expert for economical evaluations (bspw. Assessment of company value)
• Pilot

Technical occupations

• Engineer
• Survey engineer
• Architect
• Expert
• Commercial chemist

Predivide a free occupation

A self-employed person is not subject to trade tax; it can become active also as so-called "“suitors coworkers"”.

Belonging one of the free occupations are contrary to manufacturing ones with the choice of their registered place of business not at the defaults and validities of a development plan bound building use regulation (BauNVO) in all area types with exception of special areas, but can after "§ 13 establish itself, as long as they do not stress any more than 50% of the building surface.

Possible disadvantages

A fee inquiry of 2005 of the federation of the free lectors and lectors among 197 representatives of this occupational group resulted in an average note of 3,4 on a scale of 1 (very contently) to 5 (very dissatisfied). The fun at the work was clearly better evaluated with on the average 2. The hour fee obtained on average amounted to about 22 euro. This resulted in an average yearly gross income in the case of the participants of the inquiry other insurance occupation-referred from approx. 14,200 euro to departure of the contributions to pension, ill, maintain and and the income tax remaining for a unmarried one on average scarcely 10,000 euro in the year.

Economic meaning of the free occupations

In Germany it gives at present about 1 million self-employed person, from whom approx. 857,000 is independent. These employ approximately 2.7 million coworker and 160,000 training (IFB estimation, conditions: 1.) And about 9% gain January 2005 GROS DOMESTIC PRODUCT. The economic meaning is comparable with that of the handicraft or the other sectors of the middle class. There is its own politico-economic within the Federal Ministry for economics and technology () paper for the free occupations.

Delimitation problems

Also, as by the example of the activity of a "“free"” programmer is to be occupied, this [i.e. the programmer] is not considered regularly as a so-called catalog-similar self-employed person, if he writes applications, which are marketed. The term of the free occupations is to be laid out thereby closely:

Quotation BayObLG BB 2002, 853, 854: With the occupations, which not already rank according to the aforementioned criteria among the free occupations in the sense of the HGB, in the long run opinion of traffic for the classification is relevant. Newer tendencies do not go there rather closely drawing and all activities in the doubt than commercially regarding the circle of the free occupations, those in the range of the classical, historically delivered, usually through special occupation orders regulated free occupations to belong and/or in their direct proximity settle are or not clearly through an individual, artistic or scientific achievement coined/shaped are ("…) The software development is commercially, above all, even if the software is marketed

It is continued to implement that the development must be regarded at least certain computer programs as high-quality mental achievement. On the other side many programs that did not become here performance requirements placing fair. In addition it comes that it concerns in many cases evenly achievements not at all so much over maximumpersonally which can be furnished, but a pertinent achievement of the "“software house"”; the development quite reached in the meantime industrielle of extents. In addition the achievement utilization cannot remain here out of consideration. Straight it plays a crucial role with software programs. Only with appropriate marketing could be amortized development costs. This applies equally to the selling of standard programs as also from individual software products. A marketnear, competition-oriented behavior, which differs from the market appearance of free occupations substantially, is necessary (grounds P. 1911).

Newer iurisdiction

The Federal Finance Court decided in the judgement of 4. May 2004 XI R 9/03 that programmers are freelance active very probably, if it does not concern trivial software. In former times valid restriction was explicitly waived "„system software "“. It is not crucial also that a new software is provided"…. b) Not each activity within the range of the development of user software is however a freelance i.S. "§ 18 exp. 1 No. 1 EStG (see e.g. to the trivial software fG Rhineland-Palatinate in EFG 2002, 1046; similarly fG Baden-Wuerttemberg in EFG 2001, 1449). This presupposes rather that the taxpayer develops qualified software by a classical engineer-moderate proceeding (planning, construction and monitoring). "…

Union of self-employed persons

Since 1994 there is the partnership company. The partnership is a society, in which suitors of occupations unite member for the practice of their occupations. It does not exercise trade. Belonging one of a partnership only natural persons can be. For commitments to the creditors apart from the fortune of the partnership the partners are responsible to the partnership as total debtors. "§"§ the 129 and 130 of the commercial code is to be used accordingly. The partnership company is registered into the partnership register and is thus able to act in right traffic under its name. The partnership company is so far hardly used despite its extensive advantages.

Illusory independentness

1999 defined the German legislator criteria for a so-called illusory independentness. Who fulfilled it, lost the status of the freelanceness. These law changes let most employer-employee relationships of free coworkers become illegal and tempted the employers to numerous dismissals, since they feared additional social security contributions. The law is revised, the regulations was loosened meanwhile.

Condition orders and regulations of charges

In the criticism are at present the partially traditional condition rules of the free occupations: Thus for instance the European Union commission referred in February 2004 and again on 5 September 2005 as so-called Follow UP (KOM [2005] - 405) to competition-legal problems and the member states in addition called, not legal restrictions for freelance Dienstleister, for example regulations of charges or with the advertisement, which can be justified to waive.

For some the occupations specified above is fixed the payment in a regulation of charges. Usually this as regulation of the administrative authority one issues and one adapts (too rarely) to the changing conditions. Arbitrariness is to be avoided by the regulation during accounting.

See also

• Freelancer
• List by occupations

Articles in category "Free occupation"

We found here 1 articles.