Four months on from our inaugural newsletter – and where do we start??

Theresa out, Boris in; champagne super overs at Lords; hottest bank holiday on record; largest ever peacetime repatriation (of holidaymakers); Parliament unlawfully prorogued; Brexit on hold (again); and a general election two weeks before Christmas. It’s been anything but dull.

The team have been equally as active in the same period, having seen a significant influx of new work. Amongst the main highlights were:

From July 21, the reform of rules on prospectuses, intended to establish a common rulebook across the EU to encourage financing through capital markets, will directly apply in Spain.

In Budimex SA (C224/18), the CJEU was asked by a Polish Court to determine the time of supply in relation to a construction contract where no invoice was issued in accordance with articles 63 and 66 of the Principal VAT Directive (PVD), which provide that the chargeable event for VAT purposes is when the services are supplied.

The proposal to reinstate Crown preference in insolvency has met resistance from all angles; the insolvency profession, turnaround experts, accountants, lawyers and funders. But despite HMRC’s bold statement in its consultation paper that the re-introduction of Crown preference will have little impact on funders, it is clear following a discussion with lenders that it may well have a far wider impact on existing and new business, business rescue and the economy in general than HMRC believes.

In einem aktuellen Beitrag im Betriebs-Berater wird das Schreiben des Bundesfinanzministeriums (BMF) vom 6. Dezember 2018 zur Entscheidung des Europäischen Gerichtshofs (EuGH) in der Rechtssache Hornbach ausführlich erläutert. Den Beitrag im Betriebs-Berater können Sie hier kostenfrei abrufen.

At the beginning of a new year it is customary to consider what the year ahead may bring. 2019 promises to be eventful not least with the UK's (planned) exit from the EU on 29 March 2019. Here's what to look out for in the next 12 months…

Brexit

On November 23, 2018, the German Federal Council (Bundesrat) approved the Tax Reform Act of 2018 (the "Tax Reform Act"; Gesetz zur Vermeidung von Umsatzsteuerausfllen beim Handel mit Waren im Internet und zur nderung weiterer steuerlicher Vorschriften), which was passed by the German Parliament (Bundestag) on November 8, 2018.

On November 23, 2018, the German Federal Council (Bundesrat) approved the Tax Reform Act of 2018 (the “Tax Reform Act”; Gesetz zur Vermeidung von Umsatzsteuerausfällen beim Handel mit Waren im Internet und zur Änderung weiterer steuerlicher Vorschriften), which was passed by the German Parliament (Bundestag) on November 8, 2018.

Recently the German legislature passed a new law, exempting extraordinary profits created by the waiver of claims under restructurings from income tax liability. The amendment was necessary because the German Federal Tax Court had previously held the original administrative decree (which in a conceptually different manner avoided the tax burden on such profits) unlawful. This article gives a brief overview over the legislative history and the practical consequences of the amendment.

1. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

On 28 November 2016 the German Federal Fiscal Court (FFC) (GrS BFH 1/15, published on 8 February 2017) held that the guidance on a reorganisation tax privilege (Reorganization Decree (Sanierungserlass)) issued by the German Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) in 2003 was invalid. The ruling has created great uncertainty for the restructuring practice in Germany regarding the proper tax treatment of restructuring gains.