Despite apparently favourable ECJ judgments, the Supreme Tax Court has once again refused a taxpayer credit for the foreign corporation tax due on a dividend received during the currency of the old, imputation tax System.
The ECJ has held that the foreign tax imputation credit on a dividend received from abroad is the lower of the corporation tax shown to have been paid abroad and the income tax due on the dividend by recipient.
In a most recent circular the Federal Ministry of Finance commented on the method of the foreign corporation tax credit under the formerly applicable German imputation system. The focus of the circular are two judgments of the European Court of Justice as regards the calculation and verification of the creditable corporation tax underlying a dividend from another EU country.
The German Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that the transitional provision from the imputation system to the so-called half-income method in the course of the Annual Tax Act 2010 is partially incompatible with the German Basic Law and obliges the legislator to retroactively eliminate the identified constitutional violation by 31 December 2023.
An ECJ advocate general has suggested the court give rather general guidance on the calculation and verification of the creditable corporation tax underlying a dividend from another EU country.
The ECJ has held that no restriction on the freedom of capital movement arises from relieving domestic double taxation on dividend income under an exact imputation system, whilst foreign double taxation is relieved by exempting the foreign income.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that the corporation tax rate on the permanent establishment income of non-EU foreign companies under the old, pre-2001 system was acceptable under community law and the double tax treaty.
An ECJ advocate general has suggested the court recognise a restriction on the free movement of capital from the differing treatment of the corporation tax underlying domestic and foreign dividends, but hold it to be justified in the interests of maintaining the internationally agreed balance of taxing rights.
The finance ministry has decreed that Supreme Tax Court judgments limiting the income adjustments under the Foreign Tax Act to questions of amount are not to be followed as precedents prohibiting adjustments by reason of the nature of the transaction under review.
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).
Pursuant to the claim for interim relief in the form of a suspension from payment the Supreme Tax Court decided that the taxation of foreign passive income pursuant to Secs. 7 et seq. Foreign Tax Act of a corporation domiciled in Hong Kong is not in serious doubt with respect to the free movement of capital and under constitutional law.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that the provision in the Trade Tax Act requiring that foreign dividends on shareholdings of up to 10% be charged to tax if received in 2001 is contrary to European law and must be disapplied for that year.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that the Corporation Tax Act prohibition on impairment write-downs on foreign investments in 2001 must be disapplied if the investment is protected by the EU freedoms of establishment or capital movement, or if it leads to retrospective taxation.
On 8 November 2018, the Finance Bill 2018 was adopted by the German parliament and received the consent of the Bundesrat on 23 November 2018 in the form of “The Act for the Avoidance of VAT Losses on the Trading of Goods on the Internet and Amendments to other Tax Regulations”(hereafter “Finance Act 2018”).
The trade tax addback of foreign portfolio dividends in the year 2001 is in line with the EU provision on the free movement of capital in Article 63 TFEU (formerly: Article 56 TEC). This was decided by the European Court of Justice in an answer to a preliminary request submitted by the Supreme Tax Court.
After the European Court of Justice had answered the preliminary request submitted by the Supreme Tax Court on the subject of trade tax addback of foreign portfolio dividends in the year 2001, the latter continued to suspend the appeal and now referred the matter to the Constitutional Court. It should be ascertained whether the transitionary regulation, which had been introduced with the replacement of the imputation system in 2001 with the half-charge to income tax, contravenes the principles of legitimate expectations laid down in Article 20 (3) of the Basic Law.
On 12 May 2020, the European Banking Authority - EBA - published its report on the measures and reactions of the addressed authorities in the EU Member States on dividend arbitrage trading, such as Cum/Ex and Cum/Cum schemes.
On 17 May 2024, the Federal Ministry of Finance (MoF) sent a draft bill for the Finance Act 2024 (FA 2024) to the professional associations for comments by 24 May 2024. The draft has now also been published on the MoF website. The law is intended to implement changes to various areas of German tax law which need adjustment. The focus is on adjustments required by EU law and case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the German Federal Constitutional Court, and the German Supreme Tax Court. Furthermore, follow-up amendments to previous legislative changes will be made. This blog summarises the key content. - Meanwhile the Federal Cabinet has approved the draft bill (see Update further below at the end of this post).
