Germany: OECD Report Suggests Lower Labor Taxes
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has stressed the need for Germany to implement economic reforms to achieve sustainable growth. The priorities include making the tax system more equitable and environmentally
See MoreGerman Transition to Electronic Payroll Tax Platform Successful
The introduction of an electronic income tax tracking system, ELStAM, has been carried out without any problems, as is shown by the figures to 7 April 2014. This new system has been introduced to deal with tax on wages and more than two million
See MoreGerman States Agree Tougher Tax Regularization Rules
German federal state finance ministers have discussed improvements to the tax system and have decided on action to strengthen the “declaration of non-compliance” that permits residents to regularize their tax affairs without the possibility of
See MoreGerman Bill Revises Energy Tax Concessions for Industry
The Cabinet has given the go-ahead to a Bill to amend the provisions of the renewable energy law. This ensures that the tax concessions given to energy intensive companies are not contrary to EU law, while preserving the competitive nature of energy
See MoreGermany: Draft guidance amending corporate tax loss limitation rules
Germany has issued draft guidance to replace prior advice on the corporate tax loss limitation rules. The current guidance was issued in 2008 and although there have not been any changes to the basic provisions in this area the new guidance aims to
See MoreGermany strengthens VAT penalties
Germany is to impose stronger value added tax (VAT) penalties in relation to cases where the taxpayer has voluntarily disclosed incorrect amounts on the return. Companies detecting and correcting errors in their VAT returns has tended to be treated
See MoreFrance and Germany- Businesses Warn Against EU FTT
Representatives of businesses throughout France and Germany have expressed their strong reservations about the planned financial transactions tax (FTT) currently under discussion among some member countries of the European Union (EU). Medef, BDI and
See MoreGermany and the EU Agree Energy Tax Break Revision
Germany is being allowed by the European Commission to continue to give energy tax incentives to 65 sectors under the renewable energy tax rules. There has been a long discussion as to whether the measures constitute illegal state aid under EU
See MoreGermany and China sign a DTA and Protocol
Germany and China signed a new double tax agreement (DTA) and Protocol on March 28 2014. The agreement generally follows the provisions of the OECD Model but the definition of a permanent establishment includes the provision of services in the other
See MoreGerman Government under renewed pressure to raise personal income tax bands
Germany is being urged to increase the personal income tax bands to keep pace with inflation following estimates that a sizeable amount of tax will be collected as a result of the effects of inflation rather than real increases in individual income.
See MoreGermany: Finance Minister Indicates Tax Cuts Will Come
The German Finance Minister has suggested that tax cuts could be made in the next few years. Various commentators have pointed out that the personal income tax thresholds have not increased in line with inflation, leading to the phenomenon of
See MoreUnited Kingdom and Germany sign DTA Protocol
A protocol has been signed to the double tax agreement between the UK and Germany. This protocol which was signed on 17 March 2014 includes in the agreement the latest version of Article 7 (business profits) of the OECD Model. The taxation rights in
See MoreGermany: Proposals to adjust personal income tax brackets
The leader of Germany’s Social Democrat party (SPD) has backed proposals to adjust the personal income tax brackets in an effort to undo stealth taxation that has resulted from the effects of inflation. This is considered to have unfairly hit
See MoreGermany and Georgia sign a double taxation agreement
On March 10, 2014, Germany and Georgia signed agreements on financial cooperation and a protocol on amending the agreement on avoidance of double taxation. The amendments in the double taxation avoidance agreement mainly concern the article in
See MoreGermany reverses plans on Railway Eco Tax Break Repeal
The German Economy and Energy Minister has reversed plans to strike out the renewable energy tax (EEG-Umlage) rebate for train operators. The EEG-Umlage is intended to finance the transition in Germany towards the use of renewable sources of
See MoreGerman 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
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