Tax & Legal

Operating equipment is not part of the real estate for valuation purposes, its joint rental together with the real estate is harmful to the extended trade tax deduction pursuant to Section 9 No. 1 Sentence 2 Trade Tax Act. This also applies if the operating facility is permanently attached to the land or building. The only exception to this rule is if the joint-letting of the operating equipment permanently attached to the land or building is considered a secondary activity that does not affect the tax benefit, the Supreme Tax Court said in a most recent judgment.

The Supreme Tax Court decided that a secondary (ancillary) activity to the holding and management of own property which is not expressly permitted by Section 9 No. 1 Sentence 2 Trade Tax Act (in the case in dispute: keeping classic cars for the purpose of appreciation of value), can also preclude an extended trade tax deduction even if no income is generated.

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.

According to a judgment of the Supreme Tax Court, the extended trade tax deduction pursuant to Section 9 No. 1 Sentence 2 of the Trade Tax Act is not available if a corporation has sold all of its real estate one day before the end of the assessment period (in the case of dispute: “at the beginning of 31 December”) because it was not exclusively and continuously active in real estate management during the whole assessment period.

If the parties to a rental agreement mutually and prematurely settle the ongoing dispute on the validity of the rental agreement by way of final payment of the lessee, the lessor is entitled to claim the extended trade tax deduction for use of own real estate according to Section 9 No. 1 2nd Sentence Trade Tax Act.

On 20 June 2022, the German Federal Ministry of Finance (MoF) published identical decrees issued by the supreme tax authorities of the Federal States on certain application issues in relation to the extended reduction of trading income pursuant to Section 9 No. 1 Sentences 3 and 4 of the Trade Tax Act as amended by the “Act to strengthen Germany as a location for funds and to implement Directive (EU) 2019/1160 amending Directives 2009/65/EC and 2011/61/EU with regard to the cross-border marketing of undertakings for collective investments” – in short the “Fund Location Act” of 17 June 2021.

Under the extended trade tax deduction, rental income derived by entities whose activities are limited to the administration of their own real property is deductible from the trading income subject to trade tax. The Grand Senate of the Supreme Tax Court held that this trade tax deduction is also available for a commercial GmbH & Co. KG with respect to its interest in a pure asset-management civil law partnership.