Considering the general context and framework of the German media law, the “broadcasting license” issued to a private broadcaster of radio or television programs is not, from a purely tax point of view, to be treated as an intangible asset for which capitalization in the tax balance sheet is mandatory. According to the Supreme Tax Court this is for want of a sufficient enough economic transferability of the broadcasting license. The fees paid in connection with the admission as regional TV-station, as in the case of dispute, are in general immediately tax deductible.
The ECJ has held that a German tax consultant cannot deduct the input tax on the acquisition of an intangible from one partnership for use by another for lack of his own economic activity.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that the opening balance sheet of a partnership converted from a GmbH may include intangibles that the GmbH could not take up in its closing balance sheet.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that the hidden reserve calculation on the change to tonnage tax (shipping lines) cannot include those intangibles that could not be taken up under the accounting rules prudently applied.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that the costs of registering a pesticide arise with the application. As part of the cost of developing the product, they are immediate expense in view of the prohibition on capitalisation of own intangibles.
An ECJ advocate general has suggested the court rule that a German practice of allowing deferral of taxation on the hidden reserves (appreciation in value) in intangible assets transferred abroad is proportional and reasonable in the light of the overall need to ensure a fair distribution of taxing rights between member states.
The German Finance Ministry has commented on possible profit adjustments under Sec. 1 Foreign Tax Act with respect to the use of group name and logo between the taxpayer and a related party.
The Supreme Tax Court has ruled the expenses of a football trainer for a Sky subscription to German football league (“Bundes League”) games may be treated as tax-deductible expenses from self-employed income. The appellant was a full-time trainer of goal keepers working in licensed football.
The Supreme Tax Court considers a sale-and-lease-back transaction as a taxable other service rather than a lease or the tax-exempt grant of a loan if the chosen scenario is a reasonable non-tax driven choice of form used to enable the seller (lessee) to enjoy certain accounting and reporting benefits.
An online form enabling the taxpayer to meet his extended duty to cooperate under Section 12 (2) of the Tax Haven Defence Act (in full “Act on Defence against Tax Avoidance and Unfair Tax Competition and amending other laws”) has been published on the homepage Federal Central Tax Office.
The Supreme Tax Court has held that the value-based fee for a tax office ruling is to be based on immediate tax effects only, ignoring secondary consequences.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirms in his most recent judgment that the Commission has not established that the tax ruling given to Amazon by Luxembourg was a State aid that was incompatible with the internal market.
According to various statements of the German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz on 22 May 2019, a system of international minimum taxation will be discussed at the forthcoming G20 (June 2019) and G7 (August 2019) meetings. The aim is to agree such a system (within the terms of the Global Anti-Base Erosion "GloBE" agenda and given the name “BEPS 2.0”) with the other 128 states of the OECD in the Summer of 2020.
According to the results of a joint conference of representatives of the Federal Government and local states (Länder) of 19 January 2021 a significant improvement in the tax treatment of certain digital assets is planned. --- The reaction of the tax authorities was not long in forthcoming.
The Supreme Tax Court has decided that the expenses incurred by a special outdoor advertising agency for the provision of advertising media by corresponding advertising media providers (out-of-home advertising) did not meet the requirements for trade tax add-back pursuant to Section 8 no. 1 letters f or d Trade Tax Act.
The International VAT/GST Guidelines now published present a set of internationally agreed standards and recommended approaches to address the issues that arise from the uncoordinated application of national VAT systems in the context of international trade. The Guidelines were adopted as a Recommendation by the Council of the OECD in September 2016.
