Update on the scope of liability for immoral delay in filing for insolvency

In the event of insolvency or overindebtedness of a legal entity, the members of the representative body or the liquidators are obliged to file for insolvency. In the event that the application for commencement of insolvency proceedings is not filed or not filed in due time, the representative body risks not only criminal prosecution but […]

BFH affirms legal tax structuring for partial “evasion” of speculation tax in the case of real estate sales pursuant to § 23 para. 1 sentence 1 no. 1 German Income Tax Act (EStG)

In its ruling of 23 April 2021 – IX R 8/20 – the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof – BFH) decided that the transfer of a rented residential property to children as a gift for subsequent sale does not constitute abusive tax planning. This decision means that tax-optimized property sales, particularly in the context of anticipated […]

The partnership as subsidiary company for VAT purposes

In its ruling of 15 April 2021, the ECJ has rejected the legal opinion of the tax authorities and the Fifth Senate of the German Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof – BFH): contrary to their opinion, a national restriction of a taxable entity with regard to partnerships as subsidiary companies is not compatible with EU law.. […]

Bundestag approves the establishment and operation of a basic company register

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 […]

Transparency for the whole of Europe! – another law reform of the Money Laundering Act – and no end in sight!

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 […]

BFH comments again on the taxation of management participation programs

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 […]

Bundestag passes supply chain act

On 11 June 2021, the Bundestag passed the Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (short Supply Chain Act (Lieferkettengesetz)). On 25 June 2021, the Bundesrat approved the Act. The aim of this is to strengthen compliance with human rights by the companies forming a supply chain. The following article presents the main features […]

Further expansion of investment control

As already announced in 2020, the 16th and 17th Amendment Ordinances to the AWV significantly expanded investment control in both the civilian and military sector, so that in the future considerably more company acquisitions, shareholding acquisitions and so-called asset deals in both the civilian and military sector may be subject to a reporting obligation and […]

Shareholders’ meetings in times of COVID-19: on the range of § 2 COVMG

The Covid-19 pandemic makes physical meetings difficult due to travel restrictions and contact bans. These often also hinder the holding of shareholders’ meetings of limited liability companies (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung – GmbH). For this reason, the German legislator has temporarily facilitated the adoption of resolutions, according to which these are no longer (as the […]