Clifford Chance

German tax measures to counter the effects of the coronavirus

30 March 2020

In a joint press conference on 13 March 2020, Olaf Scholz (Federal Minister of Finance) and Peter Altmaier (Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy) announced an extensive bundle of measures to support companies in the current crises. This bundle contains the following tax measures to support companies with their liquidity:

• Facilitating the grant of tax deferments;

• More straightforward adjustment of advance tax payments;

• Waiver of enforcement measures and late-payment penalties until 31 December 2020; plus

• Instruction to the General Customs Administration and the Federal Central Tax Office to accommodate the needs of the taxpayers regarding the taxes administered by them (e.g. energy tax, air transport tax, insurance tax and value added tax).

We recommend contacting the tax authorities at short notice in order to benefit from these emergency relief measures. Further tax benefits such as partial waivers of taxes are, however, currently not envisaged.

Download PDF