Berlin's Taxfix to collect rival Steuerbot from the latter's current owner Haufe Group

German publishing group Haufe is inching closer to a sale of its  subsidiary Steuerbot, a digital app for filing tax returns, to the unicorn value competitor based in Berlin: Taxfix.

Local news provider FinanceFWD relates that Steuerbot is changing hands for a second time having been picked up by Haufe Group in 2018.

Despite joining its competitor, no changes will be made to Steuerbot's 18-person staff, product and brand and it will remain under the leadership of its founding team Jochen Schöllig and Marc Neumann.

That's because its use case differs marginally from that of Taxfix. As Taxfix employs a circa 500-person headcount, it has a more comprehensive tax advice offer with human consulting of tax affairs as well as extra services like pensions support.

While core tax submissions via Steuerbot's are €10 cheaper, it remains focused on chatbot-enabled filings, an area it will continue to specialise in following the acquisition.

Taxfix's revenue amounted to €21 million in 2021, however, the startup reported a €43 million loss, as its French and Italian subsidiaries didn't perform as well as anticipated, according to media reports. In the last 12 months, the company was forecast to grow by 100 to 150 percent having closed on $220 million of funds 10 months ago at a valuation north of $1 billion.