Ok - I know there is no way this is true, but I got an email from a friend...

She's telling me she owes Germany 25k in back taxes because in 2007 the law changed and now states that anyone who owns property in Germany makes their total income subject to taxes.

She's got a lawyer and the lawyer is telling her that the law changed in 2007 and the Germans are coming after all the Americans who own property in Germany. This just does not sound right to me and I'm thinking that either this lawyer is really badly informed on the SOFA status or is trying to scam my friend. The lawyer is even saying that owning property in Germany makes you pay German tax and not American taxes. I know for a fact that part is not true.

Has anyone else heard anything remotely to this effect?

I'm thinking that her German husband did not claim the correct tax class because he probably took tax class 3 (married single income) based on her being "NATO/GS" and saying that she was not working? If that's what he did? I think under German law he should have taken tax class 1