A foreign business with neither seat, place of management or branch in Germany may only appoint a fiscal representative to fulfil all German VAT obligations on its behalf and for its account where its only German sales are VAT-free and it has no input tax to be deducted. The fiscal representative may be anybody (person, firm or organisation) entitled to offer tax consulting services.

The finance ministry has published its draft bill to transpose various EU amendments and ECJ cases into national law whilst taking the opportunity to make a number of editorial changes.

The European Commission has called for public comments on shareholders rights by December 16 in connection with a proposal to ensure shareholders have adequate rights of control over managements.

The ECJ has overturned the Council decision of November 2003 to suspend proceedings against Germany and France for their excessive budget deficits in 2003. The Commission is considering what action to take.

Is it Feasible for Employees Assigned to Germany to Remain on the Payroll of the Parent Company? PwC Frequently Asked Question.

The Supreme Tax Court has held that a loan from a domestic shareholder to a domestic subsidiary to fund a foreign PE is not a foreign transaction open to income adjustment under the transfer pricing rules.

The Supreme Tax Court has upheld the tax office' right to raise an estimated assessment on an employer for the "wages" withholding tax which he failed to deduct or account for. In so doing, the Court rejected the argument of the employer that the only remedy open to the tax office was to make him liable for the uncollected income taxes of the employees once these had been assessed.

The Supreme Tax Court has held that the hotel costs of an employee for occasional overnight stays near the place of work rank as business expenses. This reverses the position taken in earlier cases.

The Supreme Tax Court has held that the hotel costs of an employee for occasional overnight stays near the place of work rank as business expenses. This reverses the position taken in earlier cases.

The annual tax returns submitted by corporate and other business taxpayers are usually accepted as filed, unless they are obviously incorrect or illogical, or unless the taxpayer openly discloses that he has taken a position at variance with the known views of the tax authorities. However, the assessment notices issued will be provisional subject to fiscal audit

The finance ministry has issued a decree accepting a Supreme Tax Court case of December 2002 calling for option premiums to be deferred as income until option exercise or expiry