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. Continue reading
Tax & Legal
The seizure of a bank account by the tax office, where the account also includes amounts received as Corona emergency aid, is unlawful. This was decided by the Münster Tax Court in a procedure for interim relief on 13 May 2020 (Az. 1 V 1286/20 AO), published in a press release on 19 May 2020. Continue reading
In its judgment of 18 December 2019 (XI R 21/18) published on 22 May 2020, the Supreme Tax Court ruled that the granting of a right to purchase goods at a reduced price (in the form of a “membership”) constitutes an independent service for VAT purposes and not just a service ancillary to the subsequent sale of goods. Even if the supermarket sells goods that are subject to both the standard tax rate (19%) and the reduced tax rate (7%), the standard tax rate is to be applied to the membership fee. Continue reading
On 8 May 2020 the European Commission proposed deferring certain deadlines for filing and exchanging information under the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC). Continue reading
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. The only change worth noting here is an addition to the explanatory memorandum on the tax exemption on subventions by employers to reduced hours compensation payments and seasonal reduced hours compensation payments vis-à-vis corrections to salary withholding tax deducted prior to the Act taking effect. Continue reading
This article is intended to provide an overview of the current measures taken in connection with the spread of the coronavirus, particularly in tax law.
A: Material on tax measures in Germany;
B: Measures in other areas in Germany;
C: Measures at European level.
D: Measures worldwide Continue reading
On 19 April 2020 simplified rules entered into force for the mutual recognition of goods in the European internal market that will enable companies to sell their products more easily throughout the EU. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
Issue 2 of the Tax & Legal News for 2020 contains includes news about support measures against the Coronavirus as well as news from the Supreme Tax Court and the ECJ: Continue reading
This morning both the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Supreme Tax Authorities of the Federal States (“the Länder”) released a circular and a decree (respectively) introducing tax measures to combat the effects of the coronavirus (COVID- 19 /SARS-CoV-2). In this Newsflash we would like to inform you of the measures.