The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority has fundamentally revised the “Minimum Requirements for Risk Management” (MaRisk) and, on 1 April 2026, presented the draft of the 9th amendment to these administrative guidelines for public comment.
The gratuitous transfer of a life insurance policy (transfer of contract) is subject to gift tax at the time of the transfer and must be assessed for tax at its surrender value. Any usufruct retained by the donor does not take effect before the life insurance policy is terminated.
Whether a payment made in connection with the sale of a share in a corporation for the selling shareholder’s continued service as managing director is classified as capital gain under Section 17 Income Tax Act or as income from employment shall be determined based on the economic context and motivation, the Supreme Tax Court said in a most recently published decision.
Costs for legal advice and representation in connection with a partition auction for dissolution of a community of heirs are deductible from the total value of the estate. According to the Supreme Tax Court, this also applies if the community of heirs had already assumed management of the estate’s assets prior to a request for distribution by one of the co-heirs.
The Italian trust mandates (of fiduciary arrangements) are subject to EU anti-money laundering transparency rules. According to a decision of the European Court of Justice, public access to beneficial ownership data remains compatible with EU fundamental rights, provided that it is strictly conditioned on proving a legitimate interest.
On 21 May 2026, the Bundestag voted to repeal the increase in the air travel tax that had been implemented in May 2024 at the initiative of the “Traffic Light “ Coalition.
The German Supreme Tax Court (BFH) ruled on 20 May 2026, that the Baden-Württemberg state real property tax law is not unconstitutional, and affirmed the law’s provisions for real property valuation used in property tax calculations starting 1 January 2025.
In a most recent decision, the European Court of Justice held that action on the part of the debtor dating back a number of years and the fact that there is, in the Member State in which the debtor is established, a law capable of hindering the enforcement of the claim concerned may be taken into account in establishing urgency for a European Account Preservation Order.
The Federal Central Tax Office (FCTO) has activated the form “Registration of Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CARF/DAC 8)” on its online portal. Crypto-asset operators who are not already subject to authorization under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA) can now register with the FCTO.
In three cases from Italy, the European Court of Justice decided that the freezing of funds and economic resources linked indirectly, through trust structures, to persons subject to restrictive measures taken by the European Union in view of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine does not contravene EU law.
In two combined requests for a preliminary ruling from the Berlin-Brandenburg Tax Court, the General Court of the EU decided that the purchase of tobacco products by a private individual in one Member State for the purpose of transferring them free of charge to a third party in another Member State is not eligible for exemption from tobacco tax as being for “personal use”.
Today, the Council presidency and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on two regulations aimed at implementing the tariff-related aspects of the EU-US Joint Statement, agreed on 21 August 2025.
The Berlin-Brandenburg Tax Court decided that maintaining an internet blog is an independent journalistic activity, and that the blogger’s earnings from this activity are taxable as income from self-employment under Section 18 of the Income Tax Act. The case is currently pending before the Supreme Tax Court.
In a recent decision concerning the deductibility of expenses for a home office used by a self-employed taxpayer, the Supreme Tax Court clarified the requirements for keeping records of such expenses in terms of content and time. These requirements must be met. Failure to comply generally results in the non-deductibility of the expenses.
With regard to the refund of withholding tax on profit distributions made by a domestic subsidiary to its EU parent company, the Supreme Tax Court decided that these distributions are not excluded from the tax relief under the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive if they relate to profits that, although distributed after the commencement of the subsidiary’s liquidation, were generated prior to the opening of the liquidation proceedings.
Compensation payments of the (insolvent) debtor to the insolvency estate as a result of the insolvency court’s approval of his self-employment do not constitute business expenses in connection with his income from self-employment, the Supreme Tax Court said in a most recently published decision.
In a most current judgment, the European Court of Justice held in favor of the applicant, namely that adjustments of the transfer prices of motor vehicles between manufacturers and distributors based on the warranty costs and operating costs incurred by the purchaser are not consideration for a supply of services subject to VAT. However, with one caveat: The situation would be different if the parties concluded a service agreement to that effect.
A soccer player’s promotional activities as a “brand ambassador” do not, on their own, constitute a commercial activity if the fees paid are intended solely to compensate for specific achievements and successes in the field of soccer. This was decided by the Düsseldorf Tax Court.
In its decision of today, the European Court of Justice held that publishers of press publications may be entitled to fair remuneration when they grant online service providers authorization to use their publications.
In a recently published decision, the Supreme Tax Court clarified that the interpretation of a “permanent establishment” for business owners and self-employed individuals set forth in Section 4 (5) Sentence 1 No. 6 Income Tax Act and which differs slightly from that in Section 12 of the General Tax Code remains also applicable after the introduction of the new travel expense regulations in 2014 (Act on the Amendment and Simplification of Corporate Taxation and Tax Rules Governing Travel Expenses from 20 February 2013).
