In a letter dated October 27, 2021, the German Federal Ministry of Finance sent a draft of the Corporate Income Tax Regulations 2022 (CITR) to the associations for comments.
UPDATE: In its session on 25 June 2021, the Bundesrat gave its approval to the Act to Modernise Corporate Income Tax Law. The Bundesrat thus followed the recommendation of the Finance Committee. The law is should enter into force on 1 January 2022.
In a decision published on 26 November 2021, the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht,) declared as inadmissible a referral by the Supreme Tax Court (Bundesfinanzhof) regarding Section 3 of the Solidarity Surcharge Act 1995 as amended on October 15, 2002 (SSA, 1995).
An ancient english university college may meet the requirements of a charitable foundation under German law and be exempt from corporate income tax because of its non-profit status. In its decision the Supreme Tax Court also found that the legal structure of the college is equivalent to that of a German foundation within the meaning of Sec. 80 (1) of the German Civil Code.
On 11 November the EU Parliament will vote on a provisional agreement with the Council that would oblige companies with an annual revenue of more than €750 million and with operations in more than one country to declare the profits they have made, the corporate income tax paid and the number of employees in each EU country for the previous financial year.
In a most recent judgment, the European Court of Justice decided that Article 10a of the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act providing for an interest deduction limitation rule in wholly artificial arrangements is compatible with EU law. Although this article introduces a difference in treatment between a domestic and a cross-border situation, such a difference is justified based on the need to combat tax fraud and tax evasion.
Advocate General Kokott is of the view that the Commission erred in deciding that Luxembourg had granted unauthorized state aid to Amazon in the form of tax advantages.
In a most recent decision, the Supreme Tax Court held that foreign currency losses on shareholder receivables similar to loans do not reduce the taxable income of the corporation. This was decided by the Supreme Tax Court in its interpretation of Section 8b (3) Corporation Tax Act as valid in 2014 and which deals with investments in other corporations and the non-deductibility of losses in connection with certain shareholder loans.
In a recently published judgment, the Supreme Tax Court decided in a case involving the transfer of a limited partnership to the sole remaining limited partner in the legal form of a limited liability company (GmbH) by way of universal succession through accrual, among other things, that the limited partner's allowable loss determined at the time of termination within the meaning of Section 15a (4) of the Income Tax Act can be offset by the limited limited company against its future profits.
The profit pooling agreement under the concept of a tax consolidation group (Organschaft) must be concluded for at least five years and be followed throughout its entire term. According to the decision of the Supreme Tax Court recognition of the Organschaft is to be denied with retroactive effect if preliminary annual financial statements of the controlled company can no longer be adjusted due to insolvency and if a different result would have been reported in the final annual financial statements if the accounting principles under commercial law had been applied correctly.
When determining the amount of foreign withholding tax credit against German income or corporation tax, expenses for future earnings are not to be included in the calculation, which - in the case of dispute before the Supreme Tax Court- improved the plaintiffs tax credit potential. This decision of the Supreme Tax Court contrasts with the view held by the tax authorities.
Congress on December 20, 2017 gave final approval to the House and Senate conference committee agreement on tax reform legislation that would lower business and individual tax rates, modernize US international tax rules, and provide the most significant overhaul of the US tax code in more than 30 years. President Trump signed the tax bill on 22 December 2017.
Does the free movement of capital require a Member State to tax non-resident and resident investment vehicles according to the same tax system? This is the question raised in the request for a preliminary ruling submitted to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) by the Portuguese tax court (Tax Arbitration Tribunal). Contrary to the Opinion of the Advocate General the ECJ decided that the withholding tax on dividends paid to non-resident Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (UCITS) is in violation with current EU Law.
The Federal Ministry of Finance (MoF), in conjunction with the supreme tax authorities of the Federal States, issued a decree according to which the tax offices are to use the tools available to them under the statutes in the interests of those taxpayers who are significantly affected by the increase in energy costs because of the war of aggression of Russia against Ukraine.
The last version of the Italian Budget Law 2019 has been published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale from the 31. December 2018 and entered into force on the 1st of January 2019. The provisions include interesting innovations on the tax environment for taxpayers, both legal entities and natural persons.
At its meeting on 11 July 2025, the Federal Council (Bundesrat) unanimously approved the immediate investment programme for economic growth passed by the Bundestag.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that a dividend paid to a US S corporation on a holding of at least 10% is subject to a 5% withholding tax insofar as its shareholders are tax-resident in the USA.
The tax exemptions by way of tax rulings from Belgium to companies forming part of multinational groups constitute an unlawful aid scheme. The General Court of the EU thus confirms the decision of the European Commission which found, in 2016, that the Belgian tax scheme was an infringement of the EU rules on State aid.
