A clear and precise overview of the key aspects of German business law. Written by attorneys involved in the daily practice of business law in Germany, this book is aimed at people who wish to familiarise themselves quickly with the German legal system and the manner in which it influences business purchases, establishment, operations and liquidations. Throughout, special attention has been paid to highlighting and explaining the differences between the German legal system and that of the United States, although the intention is to provide information that will prove valuable to all foreigners, particularly business people and lawyers advising clients with an interest in doing business in Germany.
Providing treatment of landlord and tenant matters, this book covers both commercial and residential issues. The reader is informed with the changing complexities of legislation and case law in this area. The coverage of cases and legislation is complemented by practical advice on issues facing practitioners in their daily work
This book gives a concise introduction to the German law of business organizations and is meant to help business practitioners and international students to familiarize themselves with its key concepts and legal issues. After outlining some characteristic features of the German legal system the book describes the various types of German business organizations with a special focus on the German Limited Liability Company (GmbH) and the German Stock Corporation (AG). The book discusses some typical problems faced by companies engaged in cross-border activities and also provides a brief outline of some recent developments in European company law with a special focus on the new multinational corporate form of the European Company (SE).
The arm's length principle serves as the domestic and international standard to evaluate transfer prices between members of multinational enterprises for tax purposes. The OECD has adopted the arm's length principle in Article 9 of its Model Income Tax Convention in order to ensure that transfer prices between members of multinational enterprises correspond to those that would have been agreed between independent enterprises under comparable circumstances. The arm's length principle provides the legal framework for governments to have their fair share of taxes, and for enterprises to avoid double taxation on their profits. This timely book contains a comparative analysis of the legal basis for the arm's length principle and the contents of the arm's length rules in US tax law as well as in the OECD Model Tax Convention and Transfer Pricing Guidelines. It includes a thorough review of international case law on transfer pricing from the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The book ends with an analysis of the issues associated with the application of the arm's length principle for multinational enterprises in a global economy.
Financial innovation allows companies and other entities that wish to raise capital to choose from a myriad of possible instruments that can be tailored to meet the specific business needs of the issuer and investor. However, such instruments put increasing pressure on a question that is fundamental to the tax and financial systems of a country – the distinction between debt and equity. Focusing on hybrid financial instruments (HFIs) – which lie somewhere along the debt-equity continuum, but where exactly depends on the terms of the instrument as well as on applicable laws – this book analyses their treatment under both domestic law and tax treaties. Key jurisdictions, including the EU, some of its Member States, and the United States, are covered. Advocating for a broader scope of application of HFIs as part of the financing of companies in Europe alongside traditional sources of debt and equity financing, the book addresses such issues and topics as the following: • problems associated with the debt-equity distinction in international tax law; • cross-border tax arbitrage and linking rules; • drivers behind the use and design of HFIs; • tax law impact of perpetual and super maturity debt instruments, profit participating loans, convertible bonds, mandatory convertible bonds, contingent convertibles, preference shares and warrant loans on HFIs; • financial accounting treatment; • administrative guidance; • influence of the TFEU on Member States’ approaches to classification of HFIs; • interpretation of the Parent-Subsidiary Directive by the European Court of Justice; • applicability of the OECD Model Tax Convention; and • implications of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. Throughout this book, the analysis draws upon preparatory works, case law, and legal theory in English, German, and the Scandinavian languages. In conclusion, the author considers tax policy issues, and identifies and outlines possible high-level solutions. Actual or potential users of HFIs will greatly appreciate the clarity and insight offered here into the capacity and tax implications of HFIs. The book not only examines whether existing legislation is sufficient to handle the issues raised by international HFIs, but also provides an in-depth analysis of the interaction between corporate financing and tax law in the light of today’s financial innovation. Corporate executives and their counsel will find it indispensable in the international taxation landscape that is currently coming into view, and academics and policymakers will hugely augment their understanding of a complex and constantly changing area of tax law.
Corporate governance encompasses the free enterprise system, which is treated comprehensively in this book from a German perspective. This distinguishes the book from other books written in English in this subject area, not only because of the comprehensive way it covers German corporate law and corporate governance, but also because of the fact that it provides international and European perspectives on these important topics. This second edition is an extensively revised and updated version of the first edition, in particular with a view to the worldwide debt crisis. The authors provide readers with an overview of the unique features of German business and enterprise law and an in-depth analysis of the organs of governance of German public limited companies (general meeting, management board, supervisory board). In addition, approaches for reforms required at the international level are also suggested and discussed, including, among others, the unique interplay and dynamics of the German two-tier board model with the system of codetermination, referring to the arrangement of employees sitting on the supervisory boards of German public limited companies and private companies employing more than 500 employees; also covered are significant recent legal developments in Europe. The book highlights the core function of valuation and financial reporting at the international, European and German levels, with accounting as the documentary proof of good corporate governance. It also expands the scope of the first edition by a treatment of the German financial sector, global corporate finance and governance, and by including a new chapter on compliance of corporate governance laws, rules and standards in Germany. As far as comparative law is concerned, new developments in the area of corporate governance in the EU, the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and corporate governance in the US, the UK and Australia are covered. The book is addressed to researchers, practitioners and basically anyone with an interest in the complex, but intriguing areas of corporate law and corporate governance.
Academic research shows that well-known principal-agent and capital market problems are strongly influenced by tax considerations. Against this background, this volume is the first to present a fully-fledged overview of the interdependence of tax and corporate governance. Not only the basic political, legal and economic questions but also major topics like income measurement, shareholding structures, corporate social responsibility and tax shelter disclosure are covered.
This publication gives an overview of all key aspects of German labour and employment law as well as adjoining fields. Legal professionals with expert knowledge and many years of experience explain the legal basis of these aspects of German law, point out typical practical problems and suggest solutions to those problems. In addition, examples are given on how to best manage legal pitfalls to minimize risks. This book translates employment and labour law for foreign in-house counsels and human resources managers at international companies and provides a clear understanding of the complex legal regulations in Germany. All three editors of the book, Dr. Jens Kirchner, Pascal R. Kremp and Michael Magotsch, are key legal professionals working at the Frankfurt office of DLA Piper, one of the largest legal services providers in the world (www.dlapiper.com), with national and multinational clients. Their experience includes the management of cross-border restructurings, outsourcing and transfer of undertaking measures, as well as the management of national and multi-jurisdictional merger and acquisitions projects, including post-merger integration processes.
Book-tax conformity is an old issue in Germany. For decades, the determination of taxable income is characterized by the authoritative principle governing the traditionally close relationship between financial and tax accounting. However, book-tax differences have been growing throughout the last decades. In particular, the German Accounting Law Modernization Act (BilMoG) is seen to set a new cornerstone in the development towards an increasing divergence between financial and tax accounting. Despite the unanimous agreement of growing book-tax differences, little is so far known about the actual relationship between financial and tax accounting in Germany. In contrast to international research that has developed a variety of approaches to measure the reporting gap and investigated the information content of book-tax differences for corporate reporting behavior, empirical research on book-tax differences and their implications is rare in Germany. Based on two unique data samples the author aims to close this gap in research and, for the first time, provide empirically valid estimates of the sources and magnitude of book-tax differences in Germany. In doing so, the author also calls the information content of tax-related disclosure requirements under German GAAP into question and develops reform options that do not only take the German perspective into account, but also consider the ongoing discussion on a Common (Consolidated) Corporate Tax Base for Europe.
