In a decision on 10 April 2018, the German Constitutional Court concluded that the complaint that the trade tax treatment of gains from the disposal of partnership interests was unconstitutional because it contravened the principle of equality was not justified.
Interest on trade tax refunds pursuant to Section 233a of the General Tax Code (AO) must be recorded as business income when determining taxable income. In a most recently published decision the Supreme Tax Court further stated that the treatment of interest that is not deductible (i. e. added back to income) as interest on arrears pursuant to Section 4 (5b) Income Tax Act versus interest refunds which are subject to income tax does not violate the principle of equality under the Basic Law.
According to a decision of the Supreme Tax Court the so called “extended unlimited gift tax liability” does not violate the constitutional principle of equality and the freedom of movement of capital under EU law. The German gift tax arises if the donor is a resident at the time the gift is made, or the acquirer is a resident at the time the tax arises. If this is the case, the tax is levied for the total amount of assets received, irrespective of whether these are of domestic or foreign origin.
In three cases and following oral proceedings on 12 November 2025, the Supreme Tax Court held that using the capitalized earnings value method for the valuation of residential property to determine the land tax from January 1, 2025, to be constitutional.
On 10 April 2018, the German Constitutional Court pronounced as unconstitutional the provisions on the valuation of property for the purposes of real estate tax and demanded new regulations
The Supreme Tax Court has serious doubts as to the appropriateness of the current fixed rate of interest on late payments which is levied at a rate of 6 per cent per annum. This is especially relevant when considering the generally low interest rates level which have been charged in the market for some considerable time.
The Supreme Tax Court decided that interest from loans made by a taxpayer to a foreign corporation in which he indirectly holds an interest of at least 10% is subject to the regular progressive scale rate income tax rather than to the (lower) flat rate of 25%. This applies for all tax years prior to the introduction of the Finance Bill 2020.
If a gift is subject to inheritance tax under foreign law (here: Switzerland) because the donor dies within a short period of time after the donation, the tax is to be credited against the German gift tax pursuant to Section 21 Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act. With this decision, the Duesseldorf Tax Court upheld the claim of the plaintiff, who had residences both in the Canton of Lucerne and in Germany.
In a decision published in April 2025 the Supreme Tax Court held that the effective day on which the actual activities are carried out by a partnership is relevant to determine the begin of its trade tax liability.
In a recent decision, the Hamburg Tax Court commented on the deduction of income-related expenses in connection with dividends from portfolio investments paid to a family foundation who itself is not exempt from corporation tax.
In a recent judgment, the Supreme Tax Court held that Section 8b (6) sentence 2 of the German Corporation Tax Act as part of the tax exemption rules for dividends from participations in corporations and associations does not apply to savings banks that are organized as legal entity governed by private law.
In a decision on two joint cases published today the Constitutional Court decided that interest incurred on late payment of taxes (back taxes) and the interest paid for tax refunds pursuant to Sections 233a and 238(1) sentence 1 of the German Fiscal Code is not in line with the German Constitution insofar as the interest rate is set at 0.5% per month and for interest periods from 1 January 2014.
Rental and lease payments for the use of movable fixed assets are not to be added back to trading profits in accordance with Section 8 No. 1 Letter d Trade Tax Act (TTA), insofar as they are to be attributed to the costs for the production/manufacture of current assets.
In a recently published interim decision, the Supreme Tax Court expressed considerable doubts as to the legitimacy of the German Energy Crisis Contribution Act which was in force for years 2022 and 2023.
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).
In a recent ruling, the Supreme Tax Court has commented on the tax treatment of fees paid to artists with limited tax liability for their performances in Germany. A key criterion for tax deduction at source is the intention to make a profit and the commercial objective of the performances in Germany.
