The Tax Court of Düsseldorf has submitted the question whether the flat-rate taxation of in-transparent investment funds pursuant to § 6 of the German Investment Tax Act (Investmentsteuergesetz, or "InvStG") constitutes a disguised restriction on the free movement of capital (Art. 58 (3) EC) and thus violates European Community law (Art. 56 EC) (ECJ-C-326/12) to the European Court of Justice ("ECJ").
Investors should therefore ensure that tax assessments remain appealable with reference to the preliminary matter currently pending before the Court by submission of an appeal.
Last Thursday, July 26 2012, the US Treasury issued a model intergovernmental agreement to improve tax compliance and to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). This model agreement was developed in cooperation with the other five FATCA Partners, namely France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.
