Germany : the Annual Tax Act 2009

In this article, the author summarizes the most important amendments for corporate and individual investors engaged in inbound and outbound transactions contained in the Annual Tax Act 2009 (Jahressteuergesetz 2009), including withholding tax on dividends paid to foreign corporations, loss-trafficking rule, tax consolidation - health and life insurance companies, dividends and capital gains for portfolio investments, tax rate for limited taxable individuals, withholding tax on royalties and athletes and artistes fees, reclassification of rental as trading income, tax losses deriving from outbound investments, real estate partnerships, leasing and factoring businesses - deduction of interest payments, family trusts, and financial accounting.