Kategorie: Politics Law Society

Turkey shares financial data – Tax dodgers should consider submitting a voluntary declaration The automatic exchange of financial information is supposed to assist countries in their efforts to tackle cross-border tax evasion. Turkey is now among the countries that share information with the German tax authorities. The automatic exchange of information is a powerful weapon in the fight against cross-border tax evasion. More than 100 countries are party to the international agreement, which sees the signatory states mutually exchange financial information relating to their taxpayers who have accounts abroad. Among…

Voluntary disclosure: Germany”s Federal Minister of Finance purchases tax CD from Dubai Germany”s Federal Minister of Finance, Olaf Scholz, has purchased a CD from Dubai that contains confidential information pertaining to possible tax evaders. A number of taxpayers – including quite a few from Germany – ought to be concerned that their tax evasion will be discovered. There has been little to report on recently regarding the purchase of so-called “Steuer-CDs” (tax CDs). That is until now: Germany”s Federal Minister of Finance (“Bundesfinanzminister”) has directed the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern –…

BFH finds rules governing taxation of shares to be partially unconstitutional Losses from shares can only be offset against profits from the sale of shares. The Bundesfinanzhof (BFH) – Germany”s Federal Fiscal Court – has ruled that this is unconstitutional and asked the Bundesverfassungsgericht – Germany”s Federal Constitutional Court – to weigh in (Az.: VIII R 11/18). The fact that losses from share trading can, to date, only be offset against profits from the sale of shares is a source of frustration for shareholders, it not being possible to offset…

Bundeskartellamt issues fines in response to illegal price fixing The Bundeskartellamt – Germany”s Federal Cartel Office – has imposed fines totaling around 6 million euros on two foundries for entering into anticompetitive agreements regarding prices and discounts. The foundries in question manufacture manhole covers and other casting products for street sewers. In addition to colluding on prices and discounts, they also agreed to divide up two large contracts between them. We at the commercial law firm MTR Rechtsanwälte note that these kinds of arrangements are of course illegal and in…

BGH changes tune on trademark forfeiture In a judgment from January 14, 2021, the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) – Germany”s Federal Supreme Court – overruled its own legal precedent on the forfeiture of trademarks (Az.: I ZR 40/20) in finding that failure to make use of a trademark means forfeiting trademark protection. According to Section 49 of the German Trademark Act (Markengesetz, MarkenG), the registration of a trademark will be declared invalid and cancelled in response to a request to this end if the mark has not been used over a continuous…

KG Berlin: Commercial rent reduction in response to closures related to COVID-19 In a judgment from April 1, 2021, the Kammergericht (KG) Berlin – the Berlin Court of Appeal – ruled that commercial rent can be lowered by 50 percent in response to a closure related to COVID-19 (Az.: 8 U 1099/20). Businesses have been forced to either partially or completely close their doors in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. We at the commercial law firm MTR Rechtsanwälte can report that Germany”s federal government made it clear…