German federal state of NRW will issue new tax assessments to taxpayers to clarify their actual tax burden
From March 2014, the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) will issue new tax assessments to taxpayers to clarify their actual tax burden for 2013, expressed as a percentage of gross income. The tax assessments will provide details of
See MoreFrance and Germany to cooperate on tax projects
France and Germany have jointly declared that they will cooperate on key tax agendas in Europe and internationally. A working group is to be set up and the group will consider how to harmonize regulations on incoming and outgoing cross-border
See MoreGermany and Costa Rica signed a DTA
Costa Rica has signed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with Germany. The agreement aims to eliminate situations of conflicting double taxation between the two jurisdictions to provide greater legal certainty for investors in making
See MoreGerman Association of Taxpayers urges Government to lower electricity tax
The German Association of Taxpayers (BdSt) has urged the Government to lower electricity tax in Germany. The government’s plans to reform the country's renewable energy law (EEG) do not go far enough in the view of the association to curb
See MoreGermany: VAT rates on multiple rate supplies
The German Federal Ministry of Finance has clarified the procedures for German VAT rates on a single supply where there are different VAT rates applicable. Where a supplier is offering for a single price goods with multiple VAT rates attached, the
See MoreGermany and EU Redesigning Energy Tax Rebate
The Federation of German Industry has said a quick resolution is expected in talks between Germany and the European Union concerning Germany's renewable energy tax rebate on offer to energy-intensive companies in Germany. The Commission is
See MoreGermany and Costa Rica sign a double tax agreement
On February 13, 2014, the Costa Rican government announced that it has signed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation on income and capital with Germany. The agreement aims to eliminate situations of conflicting double taxation between the
See MoreGermany: Taxable Pension Threshold Lower
The taxable pension threshold in Germany has been reduced; tax will be due in 2014 on gross monthly pension income that exceeds EUR 1,225 for single taxpayers, and EUR 2,450 for married couples. This is part of an ongoing reform to progressively
See MoreJoining of Six More Countries with the Tax Information Exchange Pilot of G5
UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy (the G5) planed for a multilateral program in April which was based on the automatic exchange of tax information. Participants of 37 jurisdictions have expressed their intention to join. Luxembourg,
See MoreNew Grand Coalition of Germany Ruled out Tax Rises
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has finally signed a coalition agreement with the Social Democrats (SPD), in which both parties pledge their commitment to no new debt or tax rises, as well as to
See MoreGermany: Enormous number of Voluntary Tax Declarations
The number of voluntary tax declarations received by the German tax authorities submitted by German residents so far this year is already more than doubles the 2012 total. It has been reported by the business newspaper Handelsblatt based on
See MoreNorway ratifies protocol to tax agreement between Norway and Germany
According to media reports, Norway’s parliament approved a law on December 5, 2013 to ratifying the Protocol to the double taxation agreement signed with
See MoreFrench and Italian FTT has been challenged by the German banks
The financial transactions tax (FTT) presently levied by France and Italy on trading in French and Italian securities need to be banned by the European Commission which is urged by the Leading associations from the German finance industry. They
See MoreGermany: Proposed coalition agreement
The German Conservatives (CDU/CSU) and their ex-opposition party the Social Democrats (SPD) signed a 185 page agreement on the formation of a “grand coalition” on 27 November 2013 which was resulted from five weeks of strong negotiations. The
See MoreTechnical services fees under treaty between India and Germany
It was held by the Agra Bench of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal of India that leather testing charges were taxable as “fees for technical services” under the India-Germany income tax treaty. The treaty allows the source state the right to tax
See MoreGermany – VAT groups
The federal tax court of Germany (Bundesfinanzhof – BFH) has changed its position on the rules for organizational integration of companies into value added tax (VAT) groups. As per the BFH, a consequence of a “merger into a single taxpayer” as
See MoreGermany – Discovering recipients of deductible payments
The federal tax court of Germany (Bundesfinanzhof – BFH) has held that the tax authorities may require taxpayers to identify the recipients of payments that are deducted as businesses expenses. Otherwise, the tax deduction can be
See MoreGermany-Switzerland Tax Deal: SPD Open to stimulating the Agreement
It has been published on 4 November 2013 that, Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) have indicated that the party might be prepared to renegotiate the bilateral tax agreement concluded with Switzerland, aimed at resolving the longstanding issue of
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