The German Federal Ministry of Finance has declared in an Ordinance dated July 18, 2013 that the scope of the German Investment Tax Act ("GITA") will continue to apply to domestic and foreign investment funds within the meaning of the German Investment Act even though said Act will be repealed as per July 21, 2013. This provisional rule is necessary because the legislative process regarding the Act Amending the German Investment Tax Act and Other Acts (AIFM Tax Amendment Act, or "GITA-AIFM") is still not finalized. 

The recent revelations of whisteblower Edward Snowden point out the fact that secure communication via the Internet is threatened. The communication between clients and advisor is affected, too. We would like to present you our services regarding secure communication and data transfers via the Internet. In this beinformed, we explain the problem of unencypted e-mail correspondence and how to significantly improve security by the use of simple tools.

Almost the entire tax amendments previously intended in the scope of the Annual Tax Act 2013 come into force now. Two of the most relevant amendments are the extension of corresponding taxation on hybrid financial instruments and the avoidance of the so called RETT-Blocker Models. Here particularly the modified provisions on application are important.