Tax & Legal

Categories: All (1729 found)

1. 07.08.2025

   Referral to ECJ regarding a possible violation of the free m ...

   In its decision of 3 June 2025 – VIII R 21/22, the Supreme Tax Court referred various questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) for a preliminary ruling in connection with the dividend withholding tax paid to third-country companies.

   Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases, From Europe

   Keywords: free movement of capital, freedom of est ...
2. 06.08.2025

   Draft bill for a third law amending the Energy Tax Act and t ...

   The Federal Ministry of Finance (MoF) has published a draft bill for a third law amending the Energy Tax Act and the Electricity Tax Act.

   Categories: Official Pronouncements, Legislation

   Keywords: electric power duty, EU Law
3. 06.08.2025

   More effective detection of tax evasion and tax fraud: Germa ...

   According to a press release issued today the Cabinet has decided to extend the retention period for accounting documents at banks, insurance companies and securities institutions to ten years. The amendment to the law aims to combat tax evasion and strengthen effective tax enforcement. This will enable large-scale tax evasion cases, such as those involving cum/cum and cum/ex transactions, to be vigorously prosecuted.

   Categories: Official Pronouncements

   Keywords: retention requirement, accounting data, ...
4. 04.08.2025

   The Supreme Tax Court considers the double assessment of rea ...

   In an interim decision, dated 9 July 2025 (II B 13/25 (AdV) and published on 31 July 2025, the Supreme Tax Court considered it doubtful, following a summary examination, that in cases where the contractual acquisition transaction (signing) and the transfer of the shares (closing) take place at different times, real estate transfer tax can be assessed twice – namely once upon signing under Section 1(3) No. 1 of the German Real Estate Transfer Tax Act (“RETTA)” (signing) and once upon closing under Section 1(2b) RETTA – if the tax office is aware at the time of assessment for the signing that the closing has already occurred.

   Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases, Tax & Legal New ...

   Keywords: real estate transfer tax, unification of ...
5. 03.08.2025

   ECJ referral regarding the review of protection of good fait ...

   The Supreme Tax Court referred to the European Court of Justice the question whether, in accordance with the principle of effectiveness, EU law precludes a national practice whereby the taxpayer's good faith in fulfilling the conditions for the margin scheme is not taken into account during the tax assessment procedure but rather considered later in fully separate proceedings.

   Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

   Keywords: concession, good faith, waiver
6. 01.08.2025

   ECJ: No further taxation of dividend in case of Parent-Subsi ...

   In a request for a preliminary ruling from Italy, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that a national legislation providing for tax being levied on more than 5% of the amount of the dividends that financial intermediaries receive, as parent companies, from their subsidiaries resident in other Member States is contrary to EU law. This also applies in the case of a tax which is not a tax on corporate income but which includes in its basis of assessment those dividends or a part thereof.

   Categories: European Court of Justice

   Keywords: dividend exemption, Parent/Subsidiary Di ...
7. 31.07.2025

   Major digital search for tax-evading influencers

   It started as a regional “task force” and now has developed into a nationwide search for influencers suspected of tax evasion. Special units of the tax authorities are now using state-of-the-art analysis tools throughout Germany combining artificial intelligence with traditional covert investigation methods and focusing specifically on social media income.

   Categories: PwC Reports

   Keywords: Tax evasion, tax audit, influencer
8. 31.07.2025

   No inheritance tax if founders of trust have only limited po ...

   If the founder of an Anglo-American trust, validly established under Guernsey law, has not reserved any powers of control that would allow him to continue to freely dispose of the assets held in the trust, the assets concerned are legally considered to be independent (intransparent) and are not part of the founder's inheritance (legacy) upon his death. Inheritance tax is therefore not payable in such cases, the Tax Court of the state of Schleswig-Holstein said in a final decision.

   Categories: Tax Court

   Keywords: trust, foreign inheritance
9. 27.07.2025

   Takeover of emergency medical service by substitute doctor a ...

   Emergency medical services are also exempt from Value Added Tax if provided and charged by a physician on duty for another medical doctor (e.g., on weekends and outside the consultation hours of panel doctors). This was decided by the Supreme Tax Court in a recently published judgment.

   Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

   Keywords: medical treatment, Medical health care
10. 25.07.2025

    Draft bill for the Act for the Promotion of Company Pension ...

    According to press reports a new draft bill has been introduced by Work and Pensions Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) with the aim of easing legal requirements for company pension plans (Second Act for the Promotion of Company Pension Plans).

    Categories: Tax & Legal News, Legislation

    Keywords: retirement pension
11. 24.07.2025

    Taxation of carried interest under the DTA between the USA a ...

    The right to tax carried interest (i.e. the additional share of profits disproportionate to the capital invested) is vested in the country of residence either under Art. 21(1) Double Tax Agreement-USA (“DTA-USA”) (Other Income) or under Art. 13(5) DTA-USA (Capital Gains) if the corresponding income constitutes income from asset management and not income from business activities. In a recent decision, the Schleswig-Holstein Tax Court ruled on the treaty qualification of the carried interest received by a German resident shareholder (the intervenor) of a limited liability company established under the law of the US state of Delaware with its registered office and place of management in the US (the claimant).

    Categories: Tax & Legal News, Tax Court

    Keywords: double tax treaty, business income, part ...
12. 24.07.2025

    Sustainability reporting: New draft bill published to implem ...

    On 10 July 2025 the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) published a new draft bill to transpose the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) into German law. The previous federal government had already presented a draft bill to implement the CSRD. However, the legislative process was never completed. The CSRD aims to ensure that certain companies report on the social and environmental impacts and risks of their business activities. The aim of the draft bill is to implement the directive with as little bureaucracy as possible.

    Categories: Official Pronouncements, Legislation

    Keywords: Sustainability Reporting, European Green ...
13. 22.07.2025

    Update: Gains from online poker may be subject to income tax

    In a most recent decision, the Supreme Tax Court held that winnings from online poker games can be subject to income tax. If a poker player plays regularly and successfully in poker tournaments, the gains are qualified as income from a trade or business.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: online game
14. 21.07.2025

    ECJ to clarify EU State aid rules on non-profit status of se ...

    In a request for a preliminary ruling, the Supreme Tax Court has referred several questions to the ECJ regarding the compatibility of non-profit tax status and the prohibition of state aid under EU law. The question to be answered is whether the extension of tax relief for special-purpose entities to companies that provide services for remuneration in cooperation with a corporation that is recognized as a non-profit organization (so-called service corporation) constitutes illicit state aid in accordance with Art. 107 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases, European Court ...

    Keywords: state aid, non-profit associations
15. 18.07.2025

    Federal Constitutional Court: Successful constitutional comp ...

    In a decision published today the Third Chamber of the First Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court (“FCC”) overturned various tax court decisions concerning the obligation to use the special electronic tax advisor mailbox (known as “beSt”).

    Categories: Constitutional Court

    Keywords: unconstitutional
16. 18.07.2025

    VAT: Council formally adopts new rules simplifying tax colle ...

    The EU Council today formally adopted new value added tax (VAT) rules for distance sales of imported goods. The new rules take the form of a directive which amends directive 2006/112/EC, known as the VAT directive.

    Categories: From Europe

    Keywords: import VAT, Supply of goods
17. 18.07.2025

    Trade tax attribution of profit from the sale of shares in t ...

    The profit from the sale of a share in the upper-tier partnership as prescribed in Section 7 sentence 2 no. 2 Trade Tax Act is not to be allocated to the hidden reserves of the upper-tier partnership and the hidden reserves of the lower-tier partnership. It is rather a single and uniform sales transaction at the level of the upper-tier partnership, the Supreme Tax Court said in a most recently published decision.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: hidden reserves, Two-Tier Partnerships
18. 17.07.2025

    The new law on defective resolutions for partnerships under ...

    With the entry into force of the Act for the Modernisation of Partnership Law (“MoPeG”) on 1 January 2024, the legislators fundamentally reformed the rules regarding defective resolutions for commercial partnerships (OHG, KG, GmbH & Co. KG). Sections 109–115 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) contain for the first time detailed provisions on resolution procedures and the judicial enforcement of resolution defects.

    Categories: Tax & Legal News, Legislation

    Keywords: partnership, legislation
19. 14.07.2025

    Subsequent amendment of tax assessment notice based on elect ...

    In a most recently published decision, the Supreme Tax Court held that a tax assessment can be corrected at any time if electronically transmitted data is sent to the tax office. It does not make a difference if the content of the data was already known to the tax office.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: electronic data, tax assessment
20. 14.07.2025

    Bundesrat votes in favour of coalition's immediate investmen ...

    At its meeting on 11 July 2025, the Federal Council (Bundesrat) unanimously approved the immediate investment programme for economic growth passed by the Bundestag.

    Categories: Legislation

    Keywords: Income Tax Act, corporate income tax
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