The GDPR is not only omnipresent on the Internet, where it says “We use cookies” e.g. on websites of bakeries, but it also has an impact on (almost) every area of law, including the transaction business. In order to illustrate this, two aspects will be examined in more detail below, firstly the data protection law factors in due diligence in the preliminary stages of a sale, and secondly the handling of personal data by the buyer after an asset deal. In both cases, a “standard market” approach has not yet developed.

Incongruent profit distributions and their tax recognition are a perennial topic in case law and consulting practice. While the tax authorities tend to classify deviating resolutions on the distribution of profits as an abuse of the tax system (§ 42 German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung – AO)), acceptance is much greater in the case law of the tax courts. This has now been confirmed once again by the Münster Fiscal Court in a recent ruling.

If the number of employees employed by a company exceeds a certain threshold, the law provides for the establishment of a supervisory board co-determined by employees. In accordance with established case law, the number of employees is determined by taking into account past and future developments on the basis of reference periods of several months. In this way, random results due to short-term fluctuations in the number of employees and frequent changes in the structure of the supervisory board are to be avoided. In a new decision, the Bavarian Supreme Court has concretized this case law and strengthened the position of companies.