On 13 February 2026, the Federal Ministry of Finance (MoF) sent a comprehensive draft circular on the principles applied by the tax administration regarding the concept of a permanent establishment and the establishment of a permanent establishment in domestic and international tax law to interested associations for comment by 13 March 2026. The circular aims to systematically present the factual requirements for a permanent establishment under Section 12 of the General Tax Code (GTC) that are relevant for the application of numerous income tax regulations and to clarify the relationship to the concept of a permanent establishment under treaty law in accordance with Article 5 of the OECD Model Tax Convention. The circular takes comprehensive account of the current case law of the Supreme T ...
In a most current circular, the Federal Ministry of Finance (MoF) revised its position on the application of the OECD Model Tax Convention when interpreting double taxation agreements (DTAs). This was prompted by the publication of a decision of the Supreme Tax Court of 5 December 2023.
On 19 November 2025, the OECD published an update to the OECD Model Tax Convention and the corresponding commentary on Article 5 regarding permanent establishments. The new guidelines specify the circumstances under which a home office is considered as permanent establishment.
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct are recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises. They aim to encourage positive contributions enterprises can make to economic, environmental, and social progress, and to minimize adverse impacts on matters covered by the Guidelines that may be associated with an enterprise’s operations, products, and services. The 2023 update is now available!
