Tax & Legal

Today, the Federal Cabinet approved the draft amendment to the Tax Consultancy Act and other tax regulations. This initiative aims to modernize tax consultancy law and make it more flexible for citizens. The draft also contains amendments to the Real Estate Transfer Tax Act. Another focus is greater tax fairness in the area of trade tax.

Tax consultancy expenses incurred in connection with the preparation of the tax return and the determination of the profit from the sale of a shareholding in a corporation are not tax-deductible costs of disposal within the meaning of Section 17(2) sentence 1 of the Income Tax Act.

The ECJ has held that a general refusal to accept tax consultancy services from another member state is in breach of community law if it does not take the qualifications held in the other state into account.

An ECJ advocate general has suggested the court hold that the German insistence on tax consultancy businesses being led by individuals with German professional qualifications to be excessive in view of the legitimate interests of the state and of clients in the availability of accurate and appropriate professional advice.