The Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) now implements, with great commitment and unprecedented speed, what it has generally announced on 16 March 2020: 

On 26 January 2011 the European Commission declared the so-called Restructuring Clause (Sanierungsklausel) (Sec. 8c (1a) of the German Corporate Income Tax Act (CTA)) as inconsistent with EU funding guidelines. The decision of the European Commission is criticized by national experts and stresses the German economy with a hardly tolerable uncertainty as regards tax issues in restructurings.  

The Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) now implements, with great commitment and unprecedented speed, what it has generally announced on 16 March 2020 (see also The four pillar protective governmental shield for Germany):

Does the German restructuring clause of Sec. 8c para. 1a CTA (see our Client Alert of 10 July 2009) conform to European Community law? This will be analyzed by the European Commission which has — by circular of 24 February — announced the initiation of a formal examination procedure (Art. 108 para. 2 TFEU, former Art. 88 para. 2 of the EC Treaty). Already before completion of the formal procedure, corporations with unrestricted and restricted tax liability in Germany may face farreaching consequences.

A. The Restructuring Clause of Sec. 8c para. 1a CTA

The German government announced that it will expand the KfW financing programme.

German legislator finally introduces tax exemption for income resulting from debt waivers in restructuring scenarios with retroactive effect.

The reform of claw-back rights in German insolvency proceedings which provides for more legal certainty for creditors has become effective on 5 April 2017.

To date, a debt waiver has been frequently used as a tool to successfully restructure German-based companies in financial difficulties.

To date, a debt waiver has been frequently used as a tool to successfully restructure German based companies in financial difficulties. A decision of the German Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof) published on February 8, 2017 currently limits such an option, given that it held that one of the main instruments used by tax authorities to grant relief from an otherwise taxable cancellation of debt income (CODI) in the form of the so-called Restructuring Decree (Sanierungserlass) violates fundamental constitutional rights.

In light of the UK’s cram down and director-friendly processes, in particular its scheme of arrangement model, major European economies such as France, Germany and Italy have worked hard to develop regimes that give greater emphasis to pre-insolvency alternatives. These new regimes create cram down mechanisms and encourage debtor-in-possession (DIP) financings, ultimately aiming to make restructuring plans more accessible, more efficient, and crucially more reliable; essentially more in tune with the Anglo-American approach to insolvency and restructuring.