The limited tax liability on the licensing or sale of rights entered in a domestic public book or register will be abolished retrospectively. This is a further building block of the Annual Tax Act 2022 announced on December 20, 2022. The limited tax liability of rights registered in Germany, the so-called register cases, has occupied internationally active groups of companies intensively in the past two years, since taxpayers who are not resident in Germany also have a could have liability. However, the law still provides for exceptions for tax havens.

This exception relates to uncooperative tax jurisdictions. If the licensor or seller of rights resides in such a tax haven, the remuneration should continue to be subject to limited tax liability. Potential tax havens are included in the so-called EU blacklist.

The law aims to ensure that income generated from ship register rights entered in a domestic ship register will continue to be covered by German tax liability. The same applies to hereditary building and mineral extraction rights. On the other hand, the taxation of third-party licenses will be abolished retrospectively.

If you have further questions about the tax liability for register cases, please contact the experts at the Altehoefer law firm for international tax advice.