They could soon be unboxing fines rather than freebies — Germany’s online influencers are facing a tax evasion crackdown that has left them screaming OMG!

The issue hit the headlines after the country’s most populous state announced a specialised unit of investigators was probing influencer tax dodging on a massive scale.

They are assessing a stash of some 6,000 data records from social media platforms that point to unpaid taxes on everything from earnings from views to advertising products.

“We know that there is a lot of money circulating right now,” Stephanie Thien, head of the state office for combating financial crime in North-Rhine Westphalia, told AFP.

“And we also know that not all of it is being taxed properly.”

Like elsewhere, the number of influencers on platforms like TikT

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