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Stay up to date with the latest tax updates, legislation changes and industry news from around the globe.

Preparing for the German Tax Authority Electronic Filing Portal: Implications for Custodian Banks and End-Investors
The German Tax Authorities (GTA; Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt)) have confirmed that their new electronic filing procedure will become mandatory for exemption certificate applications and withholding tax (WHT) reclaims as of 1 July 2023. This new electronic filing procedure (BZSt OnlinePortal (BOP)) will replace the previous process of submitting hardcopy paper-based applications. Although the introduction of the BOP was effective as of 1 January 2023, and mandatory as of July 2023, the GTA confirmed that hard-paper reclaim applications are still permissible until 30 September 2023, for...

Levelling the Playing Field: CJEU Ruling Ends Discriminatory Tax Treatment of Foreign Property Funds in Germany
In the judgment of L Fund v. Germany, C-537/20 (CJEU 2023) on 27 April 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) determined that Germany’s tax legislation contravened Article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which safeguards the free movement of capital. The court found that Germany’s corporate tax exemption for domestic specialized property funds, while excluding foreign specialized property funds from the same benefit, resulted in a less favorable tax treatment for the latter group when they received income from properties in Germany.

German Supreme Court Denies Canadian Pension Fund’s Appeal in ECJ Reclaim Case
The Supreme Court of Germany issued a ruling on December 1st, 2022 concerning the European Court of Justice (ECJ) reclaim submitted by the College Pension Plan of British Columbia, a Canadian pension fund. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal against the rejection of the ECJ reclaim by the Federal Tax Court of Munich in December 2021, which meant that the German withholding taxes levied on dividends could not be refunded. The Supreme Court justified its decision by asserting that the Federal Tax Court of Munich had fulfilled the requirements outlined by the ECJ.

New Austrian Rules for Tax Relief Eligibility following Unprecedented Administrative Court Decision: Impact on Financial Intermediaries and Shareholders
Following the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court “Verwaltungsgerichtshof – (VwGH)” decision on 28 June 2022 (Ro 2022/13/0002) concerning short-term Cum-Ex-Trades and withholding tax refunds, the Austrian Ministry of Finance (MoF) published a new information letter on the 15 November 2022 with regards to the attribution of dividends for income and tax relief eligibility purposes.

Introducing WTax’s Custodian Tax Product Offering
For the last two decades, WTax has been at the forefront of providing end-investors with access to tax technical expertise and expedited reclaim processing through proprietary reclaim technology, ensuring any eligible tax yield is obtained and the associated administrative burden of the ever-evolving and complex withholding tax reclaim process is alleviated.

Taxation changes to Spanish SICAVs
On July 9, 2021, the Spanish Official Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado – BOE) published a major change in Spanish law 11/2021 in relation to measures to prevent and combat tax fraud.

The Future of Taxation for Financial Services, Tax Authorities and End Investors
During the course of October, WTax attended two conferences hosted by Hansuke Consulting: Operational Taxes for Investment Firms, and the Financial Services Tax Conference: Taxation in Times of Crisis. Two significant themes emerged from the insightful discussions held, namely, the evolution of the taxation landscape, and trust in the end-to-end taxation system.

Global ESG Investing: How to increase your investment’s impact
Overview – How to Make the Most of Your Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Investments Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) focused investments have grown by more than 750% since they were first mentioned in the 2006 United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) report. With the considerable growth in ESG investing, ESG factors are being incorporated within the financial evaluation of companies. At the time of writing, there are 4996 signatories, composed of asset owners, asset managers and service providers who represent over $121 trillion in...