February 3, 2026
Code, clout, or corporate loophole?
Petition for Recognition of Work on Open-Source as Volunteering in Germany
Open-source as volunteering in Germany? Fans cheer, skeptics yell “loophole”
TLDR: A petition asks Germany to treat open‑source coding as official volunteering, unlocking tax-free stipends, donation receipts, and legal clarity. Commenters split: some demand an official Bundestag filing, others fear corporate tax loopholes and “ChatGPT freeloaders,” while supporters say volunteers already hold up critical digital infrastructure.
Germany’s open‑source crowd wants their code counted as real volunteer work — with tax perks, legal clarity, and donation receipts — and the comments section lit up. Supporters argue that unpaid coders keep the internet running, from security tools to school software, so why aren’t they treated like youth coaches or rescue volunteers? Enter the drama: one top comment scoffed that unless it’s filed on the official Bundestag petition site, it’s “as useful as a Facebook like,” dropping the actual link to do it right: epetitionen.bundestag.de.
Key Points
- •The petition seeks formal recognition of open-source contributions as volunteer work in Germany.
- •Open-source software underpins critical digital infrastructure and is essential to digital sovereignty, per the federal coalition agreement.
- •Most open-source work is unpaid and voluntary, comparable to traditional public-good volunteering.
- •Lack of recognition limits tax-exempt compensations, funding access, liability protections, and administrative benefits for projects and contributors.
- •Recognition would enable tax exemptions, public-good classification (§52 AO), liability clarity (akin to §31a BGB), reimbursements, and donation receipts; it would also align Germany with international practices.