A reporting obligation already exists for international tax arrangements. The reporting obligation for purely national tax arrangements has been included in draft legislation for years but has not yet been implemented.
A new attempt is now being made. The draft is closely aligned in substance with the existing reporting obligation for international arrangements. The obligation applies to the user of the tax arrangement as well as to so-called intermediaries who offer the arrangement as a concept (e.g. Rechtsanwälte (German Attorneys-at-Law), Steuerberater (German Certified Tax Advisors), banks).
Whether a transaction that provides a tax benefit is subject to the reporting obligation is determined by a catalogue of abstract hallmarks. The reporting obligation does not prohibit legal national arrangements; however, the tax authorities seek to obtain an overview of which arrangement models are being used.
These pieces of information are also helpful for tax audits from the tax authorities' perspective, as the proper application of the respective arrangement model can then be reviewed in a targeted manner. Individuals or entities with a sustained income of less than EUR 2 million per year, as well as companies with taxable turnover of less than EUR 50 million per year, are not to be subject to a reporting obligation.
Note: The exact date of application of the rules is still to be determined by the BMF. However, it can be assumed that this will not occur before 2025, as the tax authorities also need to put the appropriate IT infrastructure in place.