Tax & Legal

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.

In a recent ruling, the Supreme Tax Court decided that companies in difficulty are not eligible for electricity tax relief as provided for in Sec. 9b and Sec. 10 Electricity Tax Act. Such relief constitutes illegal State aid as set forth in Article 107 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The Supreme Tax Court was called for the first time to deal with this issue.

Following the release on 23 February 2022 by the Committee of the Coalition Government of a paper entitled “10 Steps to Relieve our Country”, the Federal Ministry of Finance published the draft Tax Relief 2022 bill on 2 March 2022.

In the night of 3-4 June, coalition partners CDU/CSU and SPD agreed on a crisis management package to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID 19 pandemic.

At its meeting on 6 May 2020, the Federal Cabinet adopted the Corona Tax Assistance Bill, which - with the exception of editorial changes - essentially corresponds to the Federal Ministry of Finance's original formulation.

In coordination with the Supreme Tax Authorities of the federal states ("Länder"), the Federal Ministry of Finance published further tax measures to assist those affected by the Corona crisis in its circular dated 9 April 2020.