The German government on 8 April 2024 published a response letter dated 2 April 2024 in regard to an inquiry of the leading opposition parties in the lower house of parliament (Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union) on the current status of the dividend withholding tax (WHT) exemption certificate and refund procedures for foreign shareholders. The original inquiry of the opposition parties was filed on 19 March 2024 and included 18 questions to the government in this regard. The responses that were provided by the government on 8 April 2024 reveal a significant backlog and over ..read more

The business tax reform bill (“Growth Opportunity Act”) (see GTLN dated 03/27/24), which was signed by the president and published in the federal gazette on 27 March 2024, has tightened the transfer pricing rules in the Foreign Tax Act (FTA) regarding cross-border intercompany financing arrangements. The final version of the bill no longer includes the maximum interest barrier rule (see GTLN dated 10/17/23), although such rule was in the original draft bill that was introduced into the legislative process by the government (see GTLN dated 09/04/23). The newly introduced sections 1 (3d) and (3e ..read more

In a decision dated 1 February 2024 and published on 21 March 2024, Germany’s federal tax court (BFH) ruled that net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards for trade tax (TT) purposes were transferred from a corporation to a partnership in a hive-down transaction pursuant to section 24 of the reorganization tax code (RTC), as the corporation transferred all of its German business activities to the partnership and no German business activities remained at the level of the corporation, except for its interest as a limited partner (LP) in the partnership and its shareholding in the general partner (G ..read more

Approved bill includes tightened transfer pricing rules for cross-border financing arrangements and other tax changes for businesses ..read more

Draft guidance replaces earlier 2022 draft guidance, final guidance would be incorporated into existing virtual currency decree ..read more

The guidance includes a statement that a home office generally should not create a permanent establishment ..read more

Difference in treatment violates constitutional principles of equality ..read more

Guidance could result in additional compliance burdens and even double taxation ..read more

Minor technical amendments implemented as part of an omnibus bill include changes to interest deduction limitation rules and real estate transfer tax ..read more

Pillar Two rules apply for fiscal years that start after 30 December 2023 ..read more