Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases (669 found)

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 08.07.2025

   Trade tax addback of profit share of US silent partner

   In a most recent judgment, the Supreme Tax Court decided that the trade tax addback of a silent partner's profit share is subject to the free movement of capital which also applies to third countries (here: the USA). The application of the "grandfather“ clause of Art 64 TFEU (ex-Article 57 TEC) is generally not affected by statements made in a letter from a lower tax authority.

   Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

   Keywords: Non-discrimination, silent partner, trad ...
6. 07.07.2025

   Partial tax-free payment of Dutch salary not subject to Germ ...

   The salary paid to a German resident employee for work performed in the Netherlands is exempt from German tax under Art. 14 para. 1 in connection with Art. 22 para. 1 letter a of the double tax treaty subject to the progression proviso. According to a most recent judgment of the Supreme Tax Court, this also applies if the employee received the salary tax-free based on the so-called 30% regulation under the specific Dutch expat scheme.

   Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

   Keywords: basic tax-free allowance, employee optio ...
7. 04.07.2025

   Inheritance Tax Gift Tax Act: Increases in the value of shar ...

   In its decision of 6 June 2025 (II B 43/24 (AdV)) the Supreme Tax Court held that, upon summary examination, it was seriously doubtful whether contributions made by a shareholder to the capital reserve of a limited liability company (GmbH) lead to a taxable increase in the value of the shares of the co-shareholders within the meaning of Section 7(8) Sentence 1 of the Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act (“IHTGTA”) if the shareholders agree that the contributions are to be allocated to the contributing shareholder.

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

   Keywords: corporation, inheritance and gift tax
8. 23.06.2025

   Compensation payment in connection with interest rate swap n ...

   In a most recent judgment, the Supreme Tax Court clarified that compensation (settlement) payments in connection with an interest rate swap may be deducted as business expenses if they are used to hedge an operational interest rate risk. However, this requires that the business loan and the interest swap transaction are exactly or at least approximately matched in respect of their content (portfolio, volume, term and amount).

   Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

   Keywords: compensation payment, interest swap
9. 15.06.2025

   Deadline to file an appeal for provision of personal data un ...

   In a recent judgement, the Supreme Tax Court held that the only legitimate type of action for the judicial claim under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the provision of a copy of the processed personal data is by way of „appeal for mandatory relief" (Verpflichtungsklage). The filing deadline is one month commencing with the delivery of the challenged administrative act.

   Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

   Keywords: Data processing, filing deadlines
10. 10.06.2025

    Allocation of total sales price for „best value menu“ with d ...

    In a most recent judgment, the Supreme Tax Court held that a method for allocating a standardized total price for a certain product that results in a proportionate sales price for a combination of goods (here: „economical menu” or “best value meal“ in the „system gastronomy“) that is higher than the individual sales price is not appropriate.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: VAT adjustment, fastfood, sale of foodst ...
11. 03.06.2025

    Treaty switch-over to tax credit method requires control of ...

    The change in the method for avoiding double taxation of certain foreign profits (the „switch-over“ from exemption to the tax credit method) stated in Section 20 (2) of the Foreign Tax Act requires that the German taxpayer controls the foreign company that generates the profits. This most recent decision of the Supreme Tax Court is contrary to the opinion of the German Ministry of Finance in a circular from 2014.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: switch over provision
12. 03.06.2025

    Capital gain from transfer of property and assumption of und ...

    In the case of the transfer of assets for partial consideration, the gain is from a private sale and must be allocated into a transaction for consideration and a gratuitous part based on the ratio of the consideration to the market value of the transferred asset. According to the Supreme Tax Court, this also applies if the consideration is below the initial (acquisition) costs.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: sale of property, capital gain
13. 03.06.2025

    ECJ referral: Physical entry of goods into the economic netw ...

    The Supreme Tax Court has asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a preliminary ruling regarding the entry of a sailing boat into the economic network of the Union. One of the questions referred to the ECJ is whether a means of transport enters the economic cycle of the Union if it is not used as such in a Member State but rather a service (here: maintenance and repair work) is carried out at the boat.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: customs clearance, import VAT
14. 03.06.2025

    No constitutional concerns regarding late payment penalties

    According to a most recent decision of the Supreme Tax Court, there are still no constitutional concerns regarding the statutory amount of the late payment penalty as provided in Section 240 (1) sentence 1 Fiscal Code, also for periods after 31 December 2018 (follow-up to the decision of the Supreme Tax Court of 23 August 2023 – case: X R 30/21). In the opinion of the court, the compatibility with EU law is also beyond doubt.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: penalty surcharge
15. 26.05.2025

    Extended trade tax deduction where first property sales occu ...

    According to a decision of the Supreme Tax Court, commercial property trading - which is harmful for the extended trade tax deduction - may be precluded under specific circumstances of the individual case if neither property sales nor preparatory measures are carried out within the five-year period and several property sales occur only in the sixth year.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: IFRS (Asset Management), extended trade ...
16. 26.05.2025

    Waiver of late payment penalties on grounds of the statutory ...

    In a most recent decision, the Supreme Tax Court commented on the conditions for a waiver of late payment fees on grounds of the concessionary rule mentioned in Section 227 Fiscal Code following the rejection of the request for suspension of payment/stay of execution by the tax office.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: waiver, penalty
17. 23.05.2025

    Competence of Central Customs Office after merger

    In a recent decision, the Supreme Tax Court has given its opinion on the territorial jurisdiction (competence) of German central customs authorities as regards electricity and energy tax relief applications and commented on the point in time when a change of jurisdiction in accordance with Section 26 Fiscal Code is possible. Competence of the customs authority is only transferred in the event of a change in circumstances and if the previously competent tax authority has already started processing the specific administrative procedure.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: customs, competent authority, tax relief
18. 16.05.2025

    Interest on withholding tax levied in breach of EU law

    Foreign companies as shareholders that are eligible for a refund of withholding tax in accordance with Art. 5 of the Parent-Subsidiary Directive are entitled to interest under EU law if the refund of the tax amounts is withheld from them in violation of EU law or if - for the same reason - tax is withheld from the outset. This was decided by the Supreme Tax Court in a recent judgment.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: tax interest, withholding tax refund
19. 13.05.2025

    Tonnage tax option only available if intended to operate the ...

    In a most recent decision, the Supreme Tax Court upheld the tax office’s refusal to allow a partnership to compute its income on tonnage tax principles – as these presuppose an intent to operate the ship in international waters in the long term. Furthermore, the court decided that the determination of profits by tonnage for a subsequent year requires that specific requirements laid down in section 5a (1) sentence 1 and (2) of the Income Tax Act as to time and deadlines are met.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: tonnage tax
20. 11.05.2025

    Charitable promotion of democratic political system via onli ...

    In a recently published decision, the Supreme Tax Court held that the operation of an online platform for the publication of socio-political issues can only be recognized as a charitable non-profit promotion of the democratic state if the matters of concern are related to the exercise of state authority and are dealt with in a neutral und unbiased manner.

    Categories: Supreme Tax Court cases

    Keywords: charitable organization, non-profit asso ...
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