Debunking the Tax and Legal Myths of

Doing Business in Germany

Thursday, April 28, 2016Wingtip Club

550 Montgomery Street

San Francisco, CA 94111

Joerg Kemkes, Managing Director

Rueter Partner, San Francisco

Presenters

3 Lower Corporate Tax Burden

Reduction of average tax burden for corporations

from 38.7% to 29.8%39.6

39.5

38.7

34.4

34,0

31.4

30,0

29.8

26,0

25,0

25,0

24,0

20.6

19,0

19,0

12.5

- 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0

USA

Japan

Germany (till 2007)

France

Belgium

Italy

Spain

Germany

UK

Denmark

Netherlands

Greece

Hungary

Poland

Czech Republic

Irland

4 GmbH Taxation

Trade tax (depends on location)

• about 14% of taxable income

Corporate tax

• 15%, solidarity surcharge 5.5%

5 VAT Impact

VAT Impact for Companies is zero, The VAT is only a burden for the ultimate consumer

Sales tax - 19%, 7%, 0% (non-taxable or tax-free)

Input VAT – fully reclaimable with VAT return

6 Employment Regulations

10 or less employees: Employment Protection Act

does not apply

More than 10:

• Employment Protection Act does usually not apply for

first 6 months of employment

• Shorter dismissal period in the first 6 months if agreed in

the contract

• Personal reasons - long sickness

• Attitude related reasons

• Operational reasons – Loss in Revenue, Restructuring,

Shutdown

7 Challenges

Travel Expenses

Identifying Taxable Benefits

Customer and Internal Events

Gifts to clients and employees

Fixed Assets

Transfer Price Study

Interest on Intercompany Account

8 Contact

Rueter Partner San Francisco101 Montgomery Street, Suite 2050San Francisco, CA 94104U.S.A.

www.rueterpartner.de

Joerg Kemkes

D +1 415 248 7815M+1 415 601 2053E: j.kemkes@rueterpartner.de