TaxSource Total

Here you can access summary of the key current tax developments in Ireland, the UK and internationally as reported by Chartered Accountants Ireland

The report of key tax developments are displayed per year, per month, by Ireland, the UK or International and by report title

Germany’s inheritance tax rules comes under EU scrutiny

The European Commission has requested that Germany change its inheritance tax rules on a special maintenance allowance to bring it in line with EU law.

Currently German legislation grants a special maintenance allowance to surviving spouses or registered partners of a deceased individual but only if either one or both of them are tax residents in Germany. The Commission considers this to be an unjustified restriction on the free movement of capital as set out in its press release.

The Commission’s request takes the form of a reasoned opinion. In the absence of a satisfactory response within two months, the Commission may refer Germany to the Court of Justice of the EU.