With the entry into force of the German Trade Secrets Act, measures will become necessary for companies to appropriately protect their trade secrets in the future as well. more…
Advancing Legal Tech – The Disruption of an Industry
Legal Tech is changing the legal market in the long term. What is already possible today and what influence technology has on the legal profession was the subject of a panel at hub.berlin on 11 April 2019. more…
Anti-Dilution in Management Participations
Anti-dilution protection is an important topic of any management participation. more…
AFMP – German exit tax violates agreement between Switzerland and the EU
On February 26, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in the Wächtler case that the German exit tax in its current form violates the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) between Switzerland and the EU and fully endorsed the Advocate General‘s pleading. more…
Investment funds – German law and practice 2019
P+P partners Andreas Rodin, Amos Veith, Jens Steinmueller and Sebastian Käpplinger contributed the Germany chapter for the recently published Chambers and Partners Investment Funds Guide which details all matters with regard to fund Formation, fund investment, fund finance as well as the regulatory and tax environment. . more…
Positive shift regarding withholding tax on online advertising
In February 2019, the tax authorities caused uncertainty with their view that a withholding tax of 15.825% should be retained by domestic clients of foreign providers on fees paid for online advertising. This view has now been rejected by the tax authorities at federal and state level. more…
Uniform European regime for Pre-Marketing and Reverse Solicitation
For the distribution of alternative investment funds, uniform European rules will soon apply in the area of so-called pre-marketing, i.e. for the distribution of information about a fund in advance of a distribution license. The rules will also affect the possibility of reverse solicitation. . more…
Remedies during and after public takeover offers in Germany
The most interesting question with respect to public takeover offers is most probably that of the consideration offered. The case of the Celesio takeover and the latest case law show this: Bidders will have to calculate even more carefully in future when structuring takeover offers. more…
Withholding tax on online advertising
According to the current view of the tax authorities, advertising expenditures for the placement of online advertising with foreign providers may be subject to a withholding tax of 15.825 % (incl. solidarity surcharge) on domestic clients. more…
Q&A – Charitable organisations in Germany
This country-specific Q&A guide provides a structured overview of the key practical issues concerning charity law in Germany. more…
Legal Guide to Private Clients – FAQs concerning German jurisdiction
This article provides a broad overview of common issues in private client law and regulation in German jurisdiction. Learn more about the key issues affecting private client work, particularly from the perspective of a multi-jurisdictional transaction. . more…
Private Clients 2019 – Recent developments in Germany
Tax, trusts and foundations, succession – Learn more about the recent developments in German legislation concerning private clients. . more…
Private debt funds – A German perspective on the legal and tax aspects of an emerging asset class
Private debt funds have made impressive progress in alternative investments for years. Institutional investors are increasingly seeking access to private debt funds, but often have to deal with regulatory and tax pitfalls. more…
Germany lowers threshold for review of foreign investments
On 19 December 2018, the German federal government enacted the lowering of thresholds for the review of certain foreign investments. The previous practice has been that foreign investments can be reviewed and under certain circumstances prohibited if at least 25% of the voting rights in a German company are acquired (hereinafter the “review initiation threshold”). . more…
Taxation of Management Participations for Advisory Board Members und Advisors
Management participations are a component of almost every private equity investment. Often, advisors and advisory board members also have the opportunity to invest on the same or similar terms as the management. While there are already some court rulings on taxation of employed managers with such equity participations, until now there have not yet been any such rulings for the taxation of advisory board members and advisors. The Fiscal Court of Baden-Württemberg made the first ruling on 26 June 2017 (– 8 K 4018/ 14). more…