Germany reduces the solidarity surcharge from 2021
On 14 November 2019, the lower house of the parliament adopted the draft bill on the reduction of the solidarity surcharge. The aim of the draft bill is the reduction of the 5.5% solidarity surcharge on corporate income tax liabilities that was
See MoreGermany: Federal Parliament approves Annual Tax Act 2019
On 7 November 2019, the German Federal Parliament passed the Annual Tax Act 2019. The German Federal Council is expected to approve the Annual Tax Act on 28 November 2019. The changes shall generally come into effect as of 1 January
See MoreGermany publishes updated draft bill on DAC 6 Rules
On 9 October 2019, the German Federal Government issued an update of the draft legislation on Mandatory Disclosure Rules addressing the implementation of the European Union (EU) Directive on the mandatory disclosure and exchange of cross-border tax
See MoreGermany: Federal Tax Court changes perspective on domestic TP adjustments in tax treaty cases
On 27 February 2019, three recently published decisions (IR 51/17, IR / 73/16, and IR 81/17) provided that the German Federal Tax Court (BFH) had changed its opinion on the application of transfer pricing (TP) rules in relation to transfer
See MoreGermany publishes new draft of DAC 6 implementation law
On 26 September 2019, federal government of German issued a draft proposal regarding the implementation of mandatory disclosure rules pursuant to the EU’s Council Directive 2018/822 of 25 May 2018 (commonly referred to as DAC 6) into Germany’s
See MoreGermany presents Budget for 2020
On 10 September 2019, the Finance Minister presented the Government's draft Budget for 2020 to the lower house of parliament (the Bundestag). The draft budget includes following measures: Currently, the solidarity tax is a 5.5% surtax on
See MoreGermany proposes corporate tax rate cut for SMEs
On 29 August 2019, the German Economy Minister announced the outline of a plan to reduce the tax and regulatory burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany. The Minister also suggested reducing the tax burden on SMEs by
See MoreIMF report comments on Germany’s tax policy
On 10 July 2019, the IMF issued a report following the conclusion of the Article IV consultation with Germany. Germany’s real GDP growth has averaged over 2% for some years but slowed to 1.5% in 2018 owing to reduced global demand and
See MoreGermany suggest new tax incentive for research and development
On 17 April 2019, the Ministry of Finance published a bill with a new tax incentive for research and development. Accordingly, all companies, regardless of their size, are entitled to the incentive of a maximum of € 500,000 per company and year
See MoreGermany updates Guidance on CbC reporting requirements
The German Ministry of Finance issued an updated version of the Application Decree on the General Tax Code on 5 April 2019. The updated version provides for guidance on the application of section 138a of the General Tax Code (GTC) by the tax
See MoreGerman passed the Annual Tax Act 2018
On 8 November 2018, the German Federal Parliament (The Bundestag) has passed the Annual Tax Act 2018 under the name “Law on the avoidance of sales tax defaults when trading goods on the Internet and amending further tax regulations”. The German
See MoreGermany: Ministry of Finance confirms exchange of CbC Reports with the U.S. for 2016
On 16 August 2018, The German Ministry of Finance published a letter on the spontaneous exchange of CbC reports between Germany and the United States (US) concerning reporting fiscal year 2016. This follows a joint statement between Germany and the
See MoreGermany: The CJEU decision permits deviations from the arm’s length principle
On 31 May 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its decision in the case of: C-382/16 Hornbach-Baumarkt that a parent company’s position as a shareholder of a non-resident company may be taken into account in
See MoreGermany: Federal Fiscal Court doubts the constitutionality of additional payment interest
On 14 May 2018, the Federal Finance Court (BFH) issued a decision suspending the additional default interest of 0.5% per month for unpaid taxes. The additional interest is considered unconstitutional. The simple penalty of 0.5% applies to every full
See MoreDTA between Armenia and Germany entered into force
On 23 November 2017, the income and capital tax treaty between Armenia and German entered into force after the completion of ratification procedures on both sides. The agreement was signed on 29 June 2016. The treaty provides for withholding tax on
See MoreGermany: Capital gains 100% tax-exempt for foreign corporate shareholders
On 25 October 2017, the German Federal Tax Court (decision dated 31 May 2017) ruled in favor of foreign shareholders selling shares in a German corporation. Capital gains realized upon sale of shares in a German resident corporation by non-resident
See MoreFinland: DTA with Germany will enter into force on 16 November 2017
On 16 November 2017, the Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) between Finland and Germany will enter into force and it will apply from 1 January 2018. From this date, the new treaty will replace the existing DTA of
See MoreGermany publishes revised guidance on CbC reporting requirements
The Germany Federal Ministry of Finance (MoF) on 11 July 2017 issued guidance on the Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting requirements in line with BEPS Action 13 and the EU Administrative Assistance Directive as amended. If certain requirements are
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