German 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
See MoreGermany releases guidance on CbC reporting requirements
The Germany Federal Ministry of Finance 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. The guidance clarifies the
See MoreGermany, Aruba signs TIEA
On 29 June 2017, Germany and Aruba signed a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA). This Agreement provides the effective exchange of information regarding tax matters between the tax authorities including automatic exchange of information which
See MoreCanada: DTA negotiations with Germany
The Finance Department of Canada has declared that negotiations to update its Double Tax Agreements (DTA) with Germany will be held in June 2017. The main objective of this release is to ensure that persons whose interests are affected have an
See MoreGermany signs the Multilateral Convention to implement tax treaty related BEPS measures
Finance Minister Schäuble signed the OECD Multilateral Instrument (MLI) on 7 June 2017 in Paris. The MLI instrument represents a vital step forward in the fight against base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) and is a remarkable consensus agreed
See MoreGermany implements legislation that restricts the tax deductibility of related-party royalty payments
The Federal Parliament and the Federal Council on 12 May 2017 and 2 June 2017 have agreed on the implementation of legislation which restricts the tax deductibility of the contributory payments under certain conditions. This royalty limitation rule
See MoreGermany: Government approves signing of MLI to implement tax treaty related BEPS measures
The German Federal Parliament on 21 December 2016, approved the signing of the Multilateral Instrument (MLI) to implement into bilateral tax treaties the tax treaty-related measures arising from the OECD / G20 BEPS Project to tackle base erosion and
See MoreGermany: Issues new procedure for non-residents regarding reimbursement of the withholding tax
Recently, the tax administration published an updated guidance on the tax refund procedure for non-residents to claim a 15% refund of withholding tax on portfolio dividends. According to the new procedure, as from 1 January 2017, the income from
See MoreGermany: Draft amendments to transfer pricing documentation ordinance
The Ministry of Finance on 23 February 2017 published draft amendments to the transfer pricing documentation ordinance. These show the changes introduced by the bill on the implementation of amendments to the EU Mutual Assistance Directive and other
See MoreGermany: Ministry of Finance publishes guidance on application of OECD’s Common Reporting Standard
The German Ministry of Finance on 3 March 2017, published official guidance (1 February 2017), on the application of the OECD's Common Reporting Standard concerning the automatic exchange of information and application of the Germany-United States
See MoreGermany-India: Social security agreement to enter into force
The Germany - India Social Security Agreement will enter into force on 1 May 2017. The agreement generally applies from 1 May 2017. From this date, the new agreement generally replaces the previous Germany - India Social Security Agreement
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