argomento: News del mese - Diritto Internazionale e Comunitario

Articoli Correlati: Germany - intellectual property - taxation

On 6 November 2020, the German Ministry of Finance issued a decree addressing some open issues relating to the obligation of foreign taxpayers to file tax returns for royalty income arising from intellectual property rights (“IP”) registered in a registry national. The decree addresses situations in which both the licensor (or licensor, i.e. the person who grants the license) and the licensee (licensee, the one to whom the license is entrusted) are not fiscally resident in Germany. Until now, it was common practice not to withhold and pay taxes on fees paid. The new decree also provides limited tax liability for capital gains arising from a transfer of legal or effective ownership (for example, through an unlimited license) of a nationally registered IP. Such capital gains are generally not subject to withholding tax in Germany and, in such cases, the IP licensor will generally be obliged to file a tax return in Germany if he transfers ownership of that IP. A tax obligation arises for royalty payments and capital gains arising from an intellectual property right registered in a national register. The tax rate is 15.825% (corporate income tax of 15% plus 5.5% solidarity contribution).