SCOPE OF THE NEGATIVE LEGITIMATION EFFECT OF THE LIST OF SHAREHOLDERS OF A GMBH

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In a more recent decision, the Federal Court of Justice (ruling of 26. January 2021, case no. II ZR 391/18) has once again dealt with the so-called negative legitimation effect of the list of shareholders pursuant to sec. 16 para. 1 sentence 1 GmbHG within a short period of time. According to this, only the person who is entered as a shareholder in the list of shareholders included in the commercial register is deemed to be a shareholder vis-à-vis the GmbH. An exception applies to cases involving the exclusion of the shareholder from the company.

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BFH COMMENTS AGAIN ON THE TAXATION OF MANAGEMENT PARTICIPATION PROGRAMS

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As attractive as management participation programs may be as a financial incentive to increase the willingness of executives to provide high performance, a certain dissatisfaction quickly arises due to the uncertain tax consequences. This is because it is often difficult to give a legally sound answer due to difficulties in the qualification of income. The question is whether subsequent income from the sale of the shares constitutes fully taxable income from employment or income from capital investment. In two further decisions, the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof – BFH) confirms its legal opinion and for the first time also comments on so-called sweet equity structures.

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TAXING A PARTNERSHIP LIKE A CORPORATION – REASONABLE OR NOT?

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Commercial partnerships now have the option of having profits taxed in accordance with the provisions of corporate income tax law. This puts them on an equal level with a GmbH or AG. This so-called option is useful, among other things, if the company’s profits are not to be distributed. On the other hand, the conversion entails a large number of requirements and obligations and also requires precise planning from an entrepreneurial perspective.

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SUPERVISORY BOARD REMUNERATION – VALUE ADDED TAX OR NOT?

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For income tax purposes, supervisory board members generate income from self-employment with their activities. Previously, the tax authorities followed this assessment and classified supervisory board members as entrepreneurs, with the result that the remuneration was generally subject to VAT. However, due to recent case law, this view is partly outdated. In the future, it will have to be examined on a case-by-case basis whether supervisory board remuneration is subject to VAT or not.

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TRANSPARENCY FOR THE WHOLE OF EUROPE! – ANOTHER LAW REFORM OF THE MONEY LAUNDERING ACT – AND NO END IN SIGHT!

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The Transparency and Finance Information Act (Transparenz-Finanzinformationsgesetz), which came into force on 1 August 2021, has transformed the transparency register from a “backup register” into a “comprehensive register”. Now, almost all associations with a legal entity in Germany are obliged to disclose their beneficial owners to the transparency register. Companies of all sizes should use the transition periods provided by the legislator to comply with their (new) transparency obligations.

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BUNDESTAG APPROVES THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF A BASIC COMPANY REGISTER

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On 27 April 2021, the Bundestag approved the draft law on the establishment and operation of a register of basic company data and the introduction of a standardized national business number for companies (Basic Company Data Register Act (Unternehmensbasisdatenregistergesetz – UBRegG)). The UBRegG essentially already came into force on 15 July 2021 and is intended to create the basis for a modern, digital and networked register landscape in Germany. The following article presents the main features of the UBRegG and provides an overview of future obligations of affected companies resulting from the creation of a central business data register (hereinafter the “Company Register”).

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