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…
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…
Tax Changes 2018 – An Overview of the Key Aspects
On November 23, 2018 the German Federal Council (Bundesrat) approved the Law on the Prevention of losses of valued added tax as regards trade in goods and the amendment of further tax regulations (previously referred to as “Annual Tax Act 2018”). more…
Foreign investments in German Cos. face increased scrutiny
Domestic review of foreign direct investment has received increased attention lately on both sides of the Atlantic. Tighter rules for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States have been echoed in Germany and further changes are on the way. Recent developments show that the German government does not shy away from blocking foreign investments. more…
Placement Agents – New German Rules to comply with MiFID II
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has now published the long-awaited draft law revising the German Placement Agent Regulation (“FinVermV”). The changes aim to conform FinVermV to MiFID II, such that the requirements of MiFID II now apply to Placement Agents. more…
Business Angels – How to identify a good target company
This podcast adresses to business angels and explains how to identify a good target company and what are the key facts to check before investing. more…