According to various statements of the German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz on 22 May 2019, a system of international minimum taxation will be discussed at the forthcoming G20 (June 2019) and G7 (August 2019) meetings. The aim is to agree such a system (within the terms of the Global Anti-Base Erosion “GloBE” agenda and given the name “BEPS 2.0”) with the other 128 states of the OECD in the Summer of 2020. Continue reading
Tax & Legal
According to Section 6(1) no. 3 Income Tax Act, non-interest-bearing liabilities with terms of at least 12 months, which do not constitute a deposit or advance payment, are to be discounted, i.e. a fictitious interest component (interest rate 5.5%) is initially deducted from profits and added back to profits in subsequent years as notional interest over the term of the loan.
The directive states that, for certain liabilities of banks, no discounting within the meaning of Section 6(1) no. 3 Income Tax Act should occur. Continue reading
The Ministry of Finance has published a new form for reporting foreign relationships according to Section 138 (2) of the General Tax Code (GTC). The new form replaces the form originally included in the Ministry of Finance’s guidelines on the application of Section 138 (2) and Section 138b of the GTC dated 5 February 2018. Continue reading
In a French case the ECJ held that failure by a taxable person to provide additional information on the VAT refund application and to answer further questions within the one-month period provided for under Council Directive 2008/9 does not automatically lead to the forfeiture of his entitlement to a VAT refund. Continue reading
According to the Supreme Tax Court in its ruling of 27 February 2019, published on 15 May 2019, and contrary to its previous case law, Article 9 (1) of the OECD Model Tax Convention, does not prohibit an income adjustment under domestic transfer pricing rules, where the write-off of an unsecured group loan is not recognised as a deduction from taxable profits. Continue reading
Gains realised by financial undertakings resident in third countries on the disposal of shares are fully exempt from corporation tax. In these proceedings,the Hessian Tax Court considered whether the exclusion from the benefit of the participation exemption under Section 8b (7) of the Corporation Tax Act also applied to credit institutions and financial services institutions not resident in the EU/EEA. Continue reading
Following the discussions of the Conference of Finance Ministers of the Federal States, the government has included in the Finance Bill 2019 amended regulations in respect of so-called “share deals” in real estate transactions. Aim of the proposed rules is a tightening of the financial framework around the indirect “transfers” of real estate held through companies and other associations of persons. The draft bill includes the following amendments: Continue reading
On 8 May 2019, the Federal Ministry of Finance published a draft bill for the proposed legislation on the further tax stimulation of electro-mobility and changes to other tax regulations. The proposed Act on the Further Tax Stimulation of Electric Mobility and on the Amendment of Further Tax Regulations provides for measures for to give tax incentives to environmentally friendly mobility, as well as providing amendments to various areas of tax legislation requiring technical adjustments.further The draft also looks to introduce legislation to combat tax structuring schemes and secure tax revenue. Furthermore, the draft bill integrates makes necessary alignements to EU law and case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The draft bill also contains the expected regulations to limit of the avoidance of real estate transfer tax through so-called share deals. Continue reading
The Supreme Tax Court has ruled the expenses of a football trainer for a Sky subscription to German football league (“Bundes League”) games may be treated as tax-deductible expenses from self-employed income. The appellant was a full-time trainer of goal keepers working in licensed football. Continue reading
The Supreme Tax Court has ruled that written warnings issued by a copyright holder in order to enforce his copyright following a breach are subject to VAT. The consideration for the written warning (deemed a service) was the payment from the person charged with breaching the copyright. Continue reading