On 21 May 2019, the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)
published its long-awaited circular on the German Investment Tax
Act (GITA) in the version effective from 1 January 2018 (the
"Circular", BMF letter as of 21st of
May, 2019, Ref.: IV C 1 - S 1980-1/16/10010:001). The Circular
addresses in particular the provisions for (simple) investment
funds (§§ 1-24) and the application and transitional
provisions (§ 56 GITA).
These provisions affect, among other things, private equity
funds and funds of funds organized as corporations and segregated
assets (Sondervermögen) (hereafter
"Investment Funds"). We have summarized
selected aspects of particular relevance for the private equity
sector below.