The Supreme Tax Court has decided that a gain arising from a share disposal can be rolled-over on a tax-neutral basis under Section 6b Income Tax Act where the privileged asset has been sold to a related entity. However, the Court also ruled that the part of the gain attributable to the write-up of the privileged asset – where the earlier write-down of the shares had reduced the taxable profits -could not be rolled over as a tax-neutral transfer under section 6b of the Income Tax Act.
The ECJ has held the roll-over relief provisions allowing deferral of the tax charge on a capital gain from the sale of business property to infringe the freedom of establishment inasmuch as they require reinvestment of the gain in a replacement asset in Germany.