Background On May 19, 2022, the German Bundestag passed the Fourth Act on the Implementation of Tax Relief Measures to Address the Corona Crisis (“Fourth Corona Tax Relief Act” or “Fourth Corona StHG”) to minimize the economic impact of the ongoing Corona-related restrictions and to provide additional investment incentives. Importantly, Federal Council approval is required (scheduled for June 10, 2022) […]
Background In a letter dated October 29, 2021, the Federal Ministry of Finance introduced a revised simplification rule for small photovoltaic systems (“PV systems”). Under this regulation, the tax authorities will assume, without further review , that the operation is a hobby activity not subject to income tax if the operator declares within a specified period that they wish to […]
Background To be attractive especially for sought-after specialists, employers increasingly offer the possibility to work abroad temporarily or even permanently, i.e. to work literally “borderless”. This applies not only to German but also to foreign employers. In our consulting practice, we have received an increasing number of inquiries on this topic, especially since the start of the Corona pandemic. In […]
Overview Corona Emergency Aid (“Corona Soforthilfe”) could be applied for by companies and solo self-employed persons in the period from March 27, 2020 to May 31, 2020. Starting in mid-June 2021, all Corona Emergency Aid recipients who have not yet submitted a response will receive an email inviting them to submit a response and containing the information and links for […]
The German Federal Government extends Überbrückungshilfe III (Bridging Assistance III) until end of September 2021. According to a press release issued by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy on June 9, 2021, the German government is therefore extending Überbrückungshilfe III for affected companies and solo self-employed persons until September 30, 2021 as Überbrückungshilfe III Plus. Funding conditions will […]
The German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) is extending the existing tax equity measures in their temporal scope due to the effects of the coronavirus. Selected contents of the BMF letter dated March 18, 2021 are presented below: Deferral of taxes Taxpayers who are directly and not insignificantly negatively affected by the pandemic can apply for a deferral of taxes […]
Background The Act on Tax Subsidies for Research and Development (R&D) (Forschungszulagengesetz – FZulG) of December 14, 2019, introduced a new tax-based research and development subsidy in the form of a R&D allowance. The tax incentive thereby joins the well-developed project funding landscape and is intended to strengthen Germany as an investment location and to stimulate the research activities of […]
Background The so called One-Stop-Shop procedure (OSS) recently adopted as part of the German Annual Tax Act 2020 will replace the current VAT Mini-One-Stop-Shop (MOSS) procedure as of July 1, 2021. The current MOSS procedure is a special procedure that allows an entrepreneur to centrally pay VAT amounts due in other EU countries. In this way, registration in several member […]
Taking advantage of tax benefits: e-bikes Background Over the last few years, electric bicycles (e-bikes or ebikes) in particular have become increasingly popular alongside classic bicycles. At the beginning of 2015, there were still electric bikes in 1.5 million households. At the beginning of 2020, 4.3 million households in Germany already owned at least one electric bike. This means that […]
Background A number of our international clients work in Germany for a Germany-based company but their families live in another EU country. Question is how this is being income taxed in Germany and the other EY country, as well as in which country social security obligations have to be made. We look for answers. Example The situation A typical case […]
