In the course of a transaction in which a company or shares in a company are sold in whole or in part, family-law provisions must often be observed. In this context, the Higher Regional Court of Saarbrücken and the Higher Regional Court of Oldenburg have recently commented on two cases of practical relevance, namely the obligation to obtain the approval of the other spouse in the case of disposition and the approval of a transfer of the limited partner’s share in favor of minors.

On 1 January 2020 the law on transposing the so-called Fifth European Anti-Money Laundering Directive into German Law became effective. Some of the resulting changes in the German Money Laundering Act pose new challenges for companies of the non-financial sector, especially for commercial and industrial companies. Companies should counter these by adapting their money laundering compliance system.

The Annual Tax Act 2019 came into force on 1 January 2020. In addition to measures for tax incentives for electromobility, changes have been made to, inter alia, the Income Tax Act, the Trade Tax Act and the Value Added Tax Act. Some of the new amendments that are particularly relevant for shareholders, employers and commercial enterprises are briefly presented in this newsletter article.

In its decision of 24 January 2019 the Vienna Supreme Court [Oberster Gerichtshof – OGH] determined for the first time that so-called gender clauses in the company agreements of commercial partnerships are unethical and thus void because they violate the principle of equality guaranteed under constitutional law. The decision issued under Austrian law is considered to have a signaling effect on German corporate law. Against this background, regulations in regard to corporate succession should be critically reviewed and adjusted, if necessary.