KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Beginning in August, Defense Department personnel who qualify for the German value-added-tax relief program may use it to save 19 percent on their monthly Telepost Kabel-Service bills, according to military and corporate officials.
Customers must use a VAT form for each monthly bill, though people can submit to their local TKS store multiple forms in advance to cover a few months at a time, said Nikki Brown, a VAT employee on Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern.
TKS’ main target audience is U.S. and British defense personnel assigned to Germany, said Alexander Wolter of the TKS corporate office in Kaiserslautern. He estimates the company has more than 30,000 American customers.
“We are the only company in Germany offering this program,” Wolter said.
Deutsche Telekom, the largest telephone and Internet company in Germany, did not return a phone call or respond to an email Friday when asked if it might offer its U.S. clients a similar deal.
TKS launched a pilot program earlier this year. Brown said her mother was one of the customers randomly chosen to participate.
“There were a handful of people who got selected for the pilot program,” Brown said. “It’s a very easy process.”
In her mother’s case, she walked into a TKS branch store with three VAT forms to cover three months. Brown said her mother saved about 15 euros, or about $21.50. That excludes the cost of the VAT form, which is $4 for one, less if you purchase six or more, with 10 being the limit.
Brown said her mother received her VAT form customer copy in the mail each month.
For more information, visit the TKS website, www.tkscable.com/vatfree.aspx.
doughertyk@estripes.osd.mil
