In a decision of the Supreme Tax Court published on 12 November 2020, the Court held that the electronic filing of an income tax return may be considered unreasonable from an economic point of view, where the cost of setting up and maintaining a system for the transmission of remote data bears no meaningful economic correlation to the income triggered by the obligation to file the tax returns electronically
According to a decision of the Supreme Tax Court, the inheritance tax exemption granted to the surviving spouse upon acquisition of the family home must not be revoked retroactively if its continued use for own residential purposes is impossible or unreasonable due to health reasons. The same applies to the tax exemption granted to children as heirs, the BFH said in another judgment from the same date.
The ECJ has upheld a German rule providing for immediate taxation (but with a deferral option) of the capital gain inherent in the excess of the market over the book value of a business transferred to a corporation in exchange for shares where as a result of the transaction Germany would lose the right to tax the gain on any subsequent sale of the shares.
The ECJ has held that a German deferral of the tax on the gain on transfer of assets to another member state over a ten-year period is not a disproportionate measure to achieve a legitimate object.
The finance ministry has issued a circular on employee redundancy payments, dealing essentially with the question of income accumulation in a single tax year.
The finance ministry has decreed that architects, engineers and construction contractors shall realise their profits in accordance with the agreed progress payments reflecting the degree of contract completion.
Following the discussions of the Conference of Finance Ministers of the Federal States, the government has included in the Finance Bill 2019 amended regulations in respect of so-called “share deals” in real estate transactions. Aim of the proposed rules is a tightening of the financial framework around the indirect "transfers" of real estate held through companies and other associations of persons.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that the tax-free portion of a redundancy settlement should be deducted from the down-payment in determining the income accumulation entitlement to progressive rate spread.
The finance ministry has issued a decree easing the formalities to be followed by those wishing to contribute to the support for the victims of the recent Elbe and Danube flooding.
The Supreme Tax Court has upheld the German rule providing for immediate taxation (but with a deferral option) of the transfer of a roll-over provision to be held as a fixed asset of a permanent establishment in another member state.
The finance ministry has published a draft tax amending bill, basically to enact ECJ judgments against existing provisions and to react to perceived abuses and anomalies.
The General Court of the European Union confirmed in its judgment of 18 May 2022 that the German aid for the rescue of Condor is compatible with EU law. The fact that Condor’s financial difficulties were caused by the Thomas Cook group being placed into liquidation did not preclude the approval of that aid by the Commission.
On 13 December 2018 the Federal Ministry of Finance published a draft bill for the enactment of tax and other regulations for Brexit (“Brexit Bill”)designed to alleviate certain legal consequences arising by reason of Brexit alone.
The Federal Ministry of Finance has sent the Federal States (“the Länder”) a draft bill to amend the Real Estate Transfer Tax Act for discussion. The main points of this bill are set out below: However, the draft may still be subject to changes in the discussion process or may even fail altogether.
The Federal Ministry of Finance has agreed with the Federal Ministry of Economics (“the Ministries”) on a far-reaching bundle of measures to protect jobs and safeguard companies of all sizes and in all sectors. These measures include tax liquidity support for companies. The measures were set out in a notice released on 13 March 2020.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that the 80% trade tax exemption for shipping in international waters only applies to income from ship charters if the claimant has equipped and manned the ship himself.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that internal or other restrictions on the excise of ownership rights do not obviate an association by common shareholding of more than 25%. It has also held that the application of the transfer pricing documentation rules to cross-border transactions only is, while discriminatory, justified by the need to protect tax revenue.
The finance ministry has amended its VAT Implementation Decree in the light of the new reverse charge on wholesale sales of mobile phones and integrated circuits.
