The Berlin Tax Advisors' Chamber has filed a lawsuit against tax-tech startup Accountable at the Berlin II Regional Court. The Chamber argues that the term "AI Tax Advisor" violates competition law and constitutes unlawful use of the protected professional title "Steuerberater" (tax advisor).
Accountable rejects the allegations: the product is clearly identifiable as a digital tool — not a human tax advisor, but a transparent AI application that takes financial responsibility for any errors. Co-founder Tino Keller sees the case as a landmark ruling in the making: with a shortage of over 10,000 tax professionals in Germany, the courts will have to decide whether innovative AI solutions in regulated professions are enabled or blocked.
More information on Accountable's AI Tax Advisor is available here.
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Berlin and Brussels, Accountable is on a mission to make taxes effortless for the self-employed — giving every freelancer and independent professional the tools to manage their taxes and finances with confidence, regardless of their tax knowledge. As the first provider to market with an AI Tax Advisor, Accountable automatically handles receipt categorization, tax filing, and business finances. Since launch, more than 175,000 tax returns have been processed through the app. Today, Accountable serves over 40,000 users in Germany and more than 80,000 across Europe.
