Only final values are rounded to full Euros (down, if I remember correctly).
If a large taxpayer starts rounding down as part of intermediate calculations of their tax liability, I think they'd get some questions.
But yes, rounding does happen a lot – what's important is that everybody uses the same, transparent rules for that, or it becomes impossible to double-check somebody's books, tax declaration, invoice etc.
Well, how much money can you save by efficient rounding? Surely not that much that anyone would bother. There's a thing called "Kaufmännisches Runden", which is kind of cheating as well.
> But yes, rounding does happen a lot – what's important is that everybody uses the same, transparent rules for that, or it becomes impossible to double-check somebody's books, tax declaration, invoice etc.
They don't, that's why it doesn't matter that much ;)
> Well, how much money can you save by efficient rounding?
You and me? Probably a few cents.
A bank or a large corporation selling things billed in sub-cent amounts? Single-digit percentages of their gross revenue, i.e. many millions.
Just as a very simple example: I'm your bank/phone provider/..., and I'm charging you a flat fee of 1.9 cents per transaction/call/... You're my customer and make a billion of such transactions per year.
Option 1: 1000000000 * 0.019 = 19000, you owe me $19000000.
Option 2: There are no fractional cents, so let's just round up each individual billing event. 1000000000 * 0.02 = 20000000, you owe me $20000000. Cool, a free extra million for the company!
This is why these things are precisely regulated when it comes to sales tax/VAT, for example.
> There's a thing called "Kaufmännisches Runden", which is kind of cheating as well.
Always depends on which side you're on. If you're getting a refund, it can work in your favor! Importantly, it's a precisely defined rule so that it's not possible to cheat in the implementation.
If a large taxpayer starts rounding down as part of intermediate calculations of their tax liability, I think they'd get some questions.
But yes, rounding does happen a lot – what's important is that everybody uses the same, transparent rules for that, or it becomes impossible to double-check somebody's books, tax declaration, invoice etc.