Germany's far-right National Democratic Party must pay a 2.5-million-euro (3.5-million-dollar) fine for failing to declare part of its income, ruled a high court Monday. The ruling, by Berlin's higher administrative court, upheld a fine imposed on the NDP by the federal parliament, for filing erroneous tax returns in 2007. This penalty had previously been halved by a lower court, whose decision was overturned on Monday, reinstating the original 2.5-million-euro fine. The far-right party is on the verge of financial ruin because of earlier fines. It was forced to pay 870,000 euros in a previous court ruling on party funding records from the 1990s, and was also charged 33,000 euros by a court last December, for incorrectly declared income between 2004 and 2007. Monday's judgement came in response to an appeal process launched jointly by the NPD - who had hoped to annul the entire fine - and the parliament's administrative body, which oversees party funding. The law stipulates that parties are fined double the amount of any undeclared funding.
DPA
