This beinformed addresses certain decisions by the German Supreme Tax Court and administrative practices of the German tax authorities, all of which are important within the context of tax filing procedures in connection with investment products. Special issues discussed in this Newsletter are the origination of expenses, impact of F/X changes of non-Euro investments, repayment of capital from non-EU corporations, depreciation in the supplementary tax balance sheet of partners in a partnership as well as deemed distributed income of investment funds.

More than ten years after Cadbury Schweppes, the European Court of Justice reaffirmed that directive benefits cannot be denied on the basis of assumptions laid down in domestic tax laws. Substance must be tested but cannot be denied on the basis of rules generally describing directive shopping situations.

The Frankfurt am Main Court of Appeal determined in its decision on 21 June 2017 (17 U 160/16) that a recommendation for an investment in closed-end real estate funds to a charitable foundation, which is subject to the obligation of capital preservation pursuant to its articles of association, was not a violation of the duty to provide investor-oriented advice as the investment in such a fund does not violate the charitable foundation's obligation of capital preservation as a matter of principle.