ARTICLE · 20 MAY 2002

249. 2001 Tax Amendment Act

KPMG Germany

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Thomas Sauter, KPMG Frankfurt

For editorial cut-off date, disclaimer, and notice of copyright see end of this article.

1 General scope

The 2001 Tax Amendment Act (Gesetz zur Änderung steuerlicher Vorschriften of 20 December 2001 or Steueränderungsgesetz 2001 for short)¹ is a lengthy document making changes in the following areas of German tax law:

• personal income tax

• value added tax

• valuation law

• investment subsidies

• other tax laws

The changes in VAT law are summarised in an article in KPMG German News no. 1/2002 p. 43 (article no. 250). The changes in valuation law, investment subsidy law, and other tax laws are not covered. This article deals with the principal income tax changes contained in the 2001 Tax Amendment Act. The new legislation affects 43 of the 99 sections currently contained in the Income Tax Act and includes important withholding tax modifications, including an overhaul of Germany's nonresident income tax withholding and refund procedures under tax

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