Prior to the announcement on 21 March 2019 that Brexit may be postponed until either 12 April 2019, 22 May 2019 or possibly later, the British tax and customs authorities (HMRC) issued guidance on 18 March 2019 on the changes to VAT IT systems in the event of the United Kingdom leaving the EU on 29 March 2019 without a deal. Continue reading
Tax & Legal
The fact that a taxpayer has both a residence in Germany and a residence abroad does not, according to a ruling by the Supreme Tax Court, preclude the existence if an unlimited tax liability even when the foreign residence constitutes the centre of the taxpayer’s vital interests Continue reading
In a draft discussion document the Federal Ministry of Finance has revealed plans for an annual research and development (R&D) grant costing a total of € 1.25 billion per annum. The plans provides for an initial duration of four years, after which an evaluation will follow. The Finance Ministry is thus currently planning total subsidy to the value of € 5 billion. According to the draft, the federal and state governments should each pay half of this amount. Continue reading
The European Court of Justice has held that the German provision for the taxation of controlled company income from invested capital from outside the EU might fall under the “grandfather” clause of Art 64 TFEU, provided the German legislation has remained substantially unchanged since that date. It is now for the Supreme Tax Court to decide finally whether this is the case. Continue reading
The purchaser of thermal power units, which were not delivered due to fraud, shall not be denied the right to deduct input tax from an advance payment if the supply appeared to be certain at the time of payment. In three decisions, the Supreme Tax Court follows a judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), to which it has referred the cases earlier for a preliminary ruling. Continue reading
The ECJ held that the expatriate exit tax rule under Section 6 Foreign Tax Act contravened the principle of non-discrimination contained in the Agreement for the Free Movement of Persons between the EU and Switzerland. Continue reading
On 26 February 2019, the ECJ issued its judgements in the joined cases T Denmark and Y Denmark -v- the Danish Ministry of Taxation (C-116/16 and C-117/16) and N Luxembourg 1, X Denamrk A/S, C Danmark I and Z Denmark ApS -v- the Danish Ministry of Taxation ( C115/16. C-118/16, C-119/16 and C-299/16). These cases related to the question of whether dividend and interest payments were exempt from withholding tax, when the payments were made from a Danish company to a EU-resident company, and then(fully or partially) passed on by the EU-resident to the ultimate parent resident in a third country. Continue reading
Our first Newsletter for 2019, including news about the tax authorities’ circular on VAT for operators of an electronic market place, and court decisions on the RETT exemption and the deduction of final branch losses Continue reading
In a case involving a charge to real estate transfer tax (RETT), the Supreme Tax Court granted the taxpayer interim relief in the form of a suspension from execution (i.e. a delayed tax payment), as the question arose as to whether one of the parties to the transaction, a letterbox company, had legal capacity. Continue reading
The last version of the Italian Budget Law 2019 has been published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale from the 31. December 2018 and entered into force on the 1st of January 2019. The provisions include interesting innovations on the tax environment for taxpayers, both legal entities and natural persons.