The idea of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value – equal pay – is not new. And yet this demand has only really gained momentum in recent years. However, equal pay naturally requires transparency as to who receives what pay in what function. This is where the EU’s Pay Transparency Directive (EntgTranspRL) comes in.
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Landlords beware: How to avoid unintentional mistakes on your tax return!
This article will give you an insight into how landlords can unintentionally become tax evaders. As the tax regulations in the area of letting are very complex, misunderstandings can easily arise and even well-intentioned actions can lead to serious consequences such as criminal tax proceedings.
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Did your parents or grandparents once fulfill their dream of owning their own property in Italy? Whether it was a vacation apartment on Lake Garda or a house in Tuscany, it is possible that this property will be included in the estate.
But what do you do with the property then?
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Claiming the compulsory portion is often necessary after a disinheritance if heirs do not want to fulfill the compulsory portion claim or want to pay out too small a share of the value of the estate.
But who is entitled to the compulsory portion? Who can sue for the compulsory portion?
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When it comes to maternity protection pay and the amount of maternity protection pay under the Maternity Protection Act (MuSchG), the last three months before the start of a pregnancy are relevant for the calculation. This is not a problem for women with a fixed monthly income or a low proportion of variable remuneration.
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Bogus self-employment is a recurring issue for companies that employ freelancers and for freelancers themselves. And yet both sides tend to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to this issue and hope that everything will work out. However, it would be better to address this problem proactively and find solutions.
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Wills are always a cause of dispute and anger among relatives of a deceased person. And it is not uncommon for relatives to want to contest a will. The motives for contesting a will are then very different.
However, it is not always possible and/or sensible for a relative to contest a will.
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The F.A.Z.-INSITUT and the renowned market research company statista rank ACCONSIS among the best tax consultancies and auditors in 2024.
This award is based on a survey conducted in summer 2023, to which around 15,000 experts from tax consultancy and auditing firms as well as business and corporate clients were invited.
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Employers have the option of paying their employees tax-free allowances in addition to their salary for the care of their non-school-age children in kindergartens or similar facilities.
Read the following article to find out which facilities are eligible and which regulations and requirements apply.
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Many people associate the topic of tax evasion with celebrities who “end up” in prison for a certain period of time with a lot of hype in the tabloids. We remember, for example, soccer managers, ex-professional tennis players or star chefs who were tried for tax evasion, sentenced to prison and had to spend some time in jail.
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In 2023, homeowners and prospective property owners in Germany will have a wide range of opportunities to take advantage of financial incentives for energy-efficient construction and renovation. Families in particular will benefit from new KfW programs offering low-interest loans and extended credit terms. These support measures are part of a comprehensive strategy to promote sustainable real estate projects and environmental protection.
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Focus on the BAG ruling from August 24, 2023
In a recent employment law case, an employee was terminated without notice after insulting, racist, sexist and violence-glorifying remarks surfaced in a chat group with colleagues. The members of the group were long-time friends and colleagues, but the employer learned of the remarks and terminated the employee.
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When modernizing a home or changing ownership, the question arises as to what subsidy options or tax benefits are available and how they can be claimed.
Would you like to get an overview of the BEG individual measures grant, tax simplification for photovoltaic systems and new regulations for sales tax?
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Due to demographic change, the topic of company succession is becoming increasingly explosive, especially in medium-sized businesses. It requires careful preparation and poses numerous challenges for both the transferor and the transferee. Moreover, a takeover process can extend over several years if legal and tax aspects are to be used optimally.
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An employee of your company starts or ends his employment during the current month? If so, this has wage tax implications that need to be taken into account.
In the following article, you will learn when exactly a partial wage payment period arises and what must be taken into account for wage tax purposes.
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The tax office has gained access to crypto trades – a wake-up call for all crypto traders.
How to inspire top talents with flexible working models and keep legal and tax aspects in focus.
In today’s working world, flexibility is becoming increasingly important, both for employers and employees. One innovative option that has emerged in recent years is workation.
Workation combines work and leisure by allowing employees to work in an attractive location abroad.
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A new wind is blowing through the crypto world, as discussions are underway in the U.S. about whether Alternative Coins (Altcoins) should be classified as securities. This potential change raises questions:
The legal regulations governing partnerships have become outdated. Many new court rulings have rendered the current regulations obsolete. This has made legal transactions with partnerships unnecessarily complicated in some cases and has made the GbR in particular non-transparent, combined with a certain loss of trust in the legal form itself.
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The lump-sum wage taxation according to §37b EStG offers employers the possibility to tax certain benefits in kind to employees with a uniform tax rate of 30%.
There is a choice between taxing the benefits in kind at the employee’s individual tax rate or lump-sum taxation, in which the employer bears the amount of payroll tax alone.
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The Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG) is currently on everyone’s lips – after all, the legislator has managed to transpose the EU Whistleblower Directive into federal law: the Whistleblower Protection Act will come into force on July 2, 2023.
The main focus of discussion is the obligation, from a compliance point of view,
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Employing full pensioners is a good way for employers to fill staffing gaps in times of a shortage of skilled workers and general staff shortages. In particular, the use of full pensioners is relatively uncomplicated for employers: in many respects it is no different from the use of non-pensioners, and in some cases there are even advantages.
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From July 1, 2023, the Act on the Unification of Foundation Law will come into force, bringing together, supplementing and clarifying many previously unclear, contradictory or incomplete points in foundation law. In addition to new, uniform federal regulations, the reform also includes the introduction of a central foundation register. The changes are intended to provide greater legal certainty in matters of liability,
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Often, a property must be sold in its entirety as part of a divorce, or one ex-spouse sells his or her co-ownership share to the other ex-spouse. The problem: if a property is sold as private assets within the so-called holding period, taxes may have to be paid on it because it may be a private sale transaction.
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Everyone is talking about a shortage of skilled workers – but what can companies do to retain good employees in the long term? In addition to a good working atmosphere, performance-related pay is of course a very important factor. However, more than half of every euro of a salary increase often goes to taxes and social security contributions.
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At the end of 2022, the German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht – BAG) issued a landmark ruling stating that recording working hours is no longer a “can” but a “must”. Employers must – even now! – record the working hours of their employees. For new-work models based on trust-based working time,
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The use of renewable energies is becoming increasingly important. To promote the expansion of photovoltaic systems, the legislature has now introduced extensive changes for operators of photovoltaic systems as part of the Annual Tax Act 2022.
Numerous bureaucratic hurdles will be removed. The new regulations will make the operation of photovoltaic systems more attractive and simpler from a tax perspective.
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With the decision of the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof, BFH) of February 28, 2023, the highest German fiscal court has now for the first time taken a position on income tax issues relating to crypto assets – Bitcoins and Co.
In it, the previously issued fiscal court decisions are followed and also essential excerpts of the BMF letter of May 10,
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In 2023, there are once again a number of adjustments to be made in the area of wage tax and social security law. Overview of relevant changes for employers:
Under certain conditions, parents in Germany are entitled to child benefit. As of January 1, 2023, the entitlement to child benefit is a uniform 250 euros per month and child and is paid out to parents by the family benefits office. So far, so good.
But if the family benefits office pays out child benefits even though parents are not (or no longer) entitled to them,
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Real estate valuation in the event of a gift or inheritance has always been a bone of contention. Now, the legislator has reformed the Valuation Act – and with significant effects on the calculation of inheritance tax and gift tax in connection with real estate. This is because the value of real estate has been determined on the basis of the market value for the calculation of gift and inheritance tax since the changes to the law on 01.01.2009.
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Further update 31/01/2023: In Bavaria, the deadline for submitting property tax returns is extended to the end of April.
In the Free State of Bavaria, property and land owners now have a further three months to submit their property tax returns. This was decided at short notice in the cabinet on 31.1.2023.
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Whether and when vacation becomes time-barred is a question that can of course also be of burning interest to employers: After all, whether their own employees are still entitled to vacation or not can become relevant above all if an employee leaves the company and in this context asserts claims for vacation compensation.
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Important changes will come into effect for employers and employees in 2023:
The paper sick bill – the famous “yellow bill” – will be abolished for those with statutory health insurance and replaced by an electronic certificate of incapacity to work. For employers, participation in the digital process will be mandatory from 2023.
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The inflation compensation premium is currently the talk of the town. After all, it gives employees hope that they will receive a payment of up to 3,000 euros from their employer to compensate for the current rapid inflation – tax-free and free of social security contributions.
What is correct is that employers have the option of paying employees an inflation compensation bonus.
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In connection with the property tax reform, many property owners receive the property tax assessment notices from the tax office.
In Bavaria, in addition to the “notice of the property tax assessment amount”, a “notice of the property tax equivalent amounts” is also issued.
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As part of the irregularly scheduled external wage tax audit, checks are made to see whether employers are properly paying wage tax for their employees. During the social security audit, the German Pension Insurance checks every four years, among other things, whether social security contributions have been correctly paid.
Our experience shows: The auditors are looking ever more closely and demanding more information or evidence.
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From 01 October 2022, the statutory minimum wage will increase to EUR 12 per hour. At the same time, the remuneration for mini-jobs will be increased from EUR 450 to EUR 520 per month.
In connection with the mini-job, there are a number of things to consider from an employment law perspective.
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Since 2020, energetic renovation measures on the owner-occupied home have been eligible for tax incentives for ten years. Corresponding expenses can be deducted directly from the tax liability.
Our experts around the property give you tips and answers to 10 questions from the practice of tax incentives for energy refurbishment of your home,
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Evidence Act: Employment contracts must be put to the test with regard to mandatory transparent working conditions
From 1 August 2022, the amended regulations of the Verification Act will apply. The background to this is the EU Directive 2019/1152 (Working Conditions Directive), which comes into force on 31 July 2019.
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An inheritance – despite all the personal tragedy – is often a financial blessing for the heirs. Never before has so much wealth been inherited in Germany as at present. However, there is also the other case: the testator or the testatrix – e.g. one’s own parents or spouse –
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Information about a GbR and the persons behind the GbR has not been as easy to obtain as, for example, in the case of a GmbH.
This will change on 01.01.2024 when the Act to Modernise the Law on Partnerships (MoPeG) introduces the company register for civil law companies.
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Overtime and its compensation are often the cause of disputes between employees and employers. This is especially true when overtime is still “on the books” after a dismissal and ex-employees want to be paid for this overtime.
But who has to prove whether overtime was actually worked? So far,
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Due to rising energy prices, the German government has introduced tax relief measures. These include the 9-euro ticket and the flat-rate energy allowance.
From a payroll tax perspective, there are a few important points for employers to bear in mind.
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Discussions between employers or supervisors and employees are often delicate. If conflicts are smouldering or have already erupted in the working relationship, they can become very verbal.
It is not uncommon for employees to reach for their smartphones and secretly record conversations with their employers or superiors that are supposed to be confidential.
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Read the background and rulings on exciting issues that concern employees and employers alike:
GmbHs and UGs must correctly enter beneficial owners in the transparency register by June 30, 2022. Otherwise, those responsible will face heavy fines.
Read more about the transparency register and the registration deadline.
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For employers as well as for students, a working student contract is an interesting thing. Employers have fewer ancillary wage costs, and students have more net left over from the gross of their salary.
To do everything right from a tax perspective, employers need to pay attention to some important issues.
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The new BMF letter “Einzelfragen zur ertragsteuerrechtlichen Behandlung von virtuellen Währungen und von sonstigen Token” has meanwhile also been published. Below you will find my brief and initial assessment of the letter of the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF).
Our expert Dr.
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With an estimated 5,000,000 people in Germany investing in the crypto world, many will soon be asking the question, “How do I account for my crypto investments in my 2021 income tax return?” Some individuals will have to make sometimes substantial tax payments as a result of their crypto investments and will thus also be required to file an income tax return in due time.
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