Heike Wieland-Blöse new Spokeswoman of the Board of Grant Thornton

After a wait of over a year, on 5 December 2024 the German Federal Ministry of Finance published its final guidance on application of the ban on deduction of operational expenses under Section 4k of the German Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz – EStG) for hybrid mismatches. It includes crucial statements on applying Section 4k, which are of particular practical importance to US inbound structures. Here we’ve summarised the most crucial effects for companies concerned.

From the start of 2025 new thresholds apply to social insurance. The thresholds have been adjusted to match the trend in income.

For private persons, protecting their privacy is a central need, both personally and in terms of their wealth structures. A new judgment by the German Administrative Court Cologne (Verwal-tungsgericht Köln) (17/07/2024–13 K 5996/19) protect the privacy of wealthy private individuals.

Organisations and the self-employed who regularly commission creative or publication services shouldn’t forget an important deadline at the turn of the year – reporting their social insurance contribution for artists for 2024. The contribution deadline is 31 March 2025. In this post we tell you what you need to look out for to comply with your contribution duties properly and on time.