German Civil Code in Section 2346 provides for a fiction of pre-death inasmuch as the person renouncing is excluded from intestate succession as though he or she had no longer been alive at the time of the devolution of the inheritance. The grandson of the deceased (the plaintiff) who had invoked this provision claimed the higher tax-free amount of €400,000 upon the inheritance. To no avail, as the Supreme Tax Court held in a most recent decision.
According to the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the different inheritance tax allowances in the case of unlimited and limited tax liability is in line with EU law, specifically it is not in breach of the free movement of capital. However, the refusal of the German tax office to deduct liabilities linked to the inheritance in the case of limited tax liability is not compatible with EU law.
