Germany: Tax planning schemes under further investigation

As stated in a publication of the German Bundestag, in terms of the “Luxemburg Leaks” affair 140 cases involving German tax law were uncovered.

The majority of the unveiled tax structures are reported to be known “patent box schemes” as well as other so called “hybrid” tax structures. German officials plan to implement automatic exchange of information instruments regarding tax rulings in terms of cross-border tax structures in the future. Therefore the respective EU directive is aimed to be amended in this regard yet in 2015.

Further to the proposed changes in the EU directive and discussions in terms of the criteria of future tax rulings at EU level, Germany plans to implement additional measures to prevent hybrid tax structures in the future.

Source: hib – heute im bundestag Nr. 421