Tax Returns

By taking up residence in Germany, you become tax-liable with your world income from all sources and have to declare it yearly. There are tax treaties and other rules that may well make such income tax-exempt (especially if you already taxed it elsewhere), but you still have to declare it all - the German tax office (Finanzamt) needs to check and confirm that it's exempt. Not declaring is a criminal offence.
Also, if you are married you need to submit a declaration (containing no income if applicable) in all cases.
Only if you are single and have no income at all do you not need to declare (but it might still be wise to do so for documentation purposes).
Please ask a good international tax advisor for help, as the rules are extremely complicated and doing it wrong can have serious consequences!

On my Website you may find additional Information about German Taxation of expatriates.

www.scheller-international.com