Company Taxation

Companies in Germany are subject to a wide range of tax burdens and liabilities. This includes, in particular, revenue taxation (income tax, corporation tax) and sales taxation (sales tax). In the case of revenue taxation, German corporate tax law is shaped by the duality of partnership companies subject to income tax (individual companies and partnership companies) and incorporated companies subject to corporation tax.

In this context, the allocation to corporation tax or income tax is always based on the legal form of the company required under civil law. This dependence of taxation on the legal form under civil law offers various opportunities to attain a tax improvement (tax optimisation) through a skilled combination of tax regimes from different forms of companies. This also forms the starting point for our field of expertise in tax planning. 

Tax design and legal advice for companies

Therefore, advice on tax structuring forms an essential element of our consulting practice in the field of company tax law. Here, we analyse possibilities for tax optimisation for you - e.g. through a change in the legal form, company structure or in the financing of your company. Moreover, we support more complex restructuring measures, e.g., with regard to the aspects of a tax-neutral reorganisation of the company or company group, if possible.

Family-owned companies trust our expertise with regard to optimised company succession to the next generation in terms of both legal and tax aspects or, e.g., in the case of the separation of shareholder groups, business divisions or a planned shareholder change. In many cases, international aspects, such as taxation consequences of a transfer of the company or of a relocation of the executives abroad, are also considered in our daily consultancy practice.

Last, but not least, we advise companies in preparing the tax structuring of company acquisitions and sales (share deals and asset deals) and the contractual implementation thereof.

Advice for companies in the field of company taxation and tax structuring as tax law specialists and tax advisers

Services

LHP Attorneys Tax Advisers and Experts in Tax Law offer competent and individual advice, in particular, with regard to the following main subjects:

• Conversion and restructuring of companies
• Integration and outsourcing of operations or parts thereof
• Use of losses and avoidance of the forfeiture of tax losses in the company
• Joining, exit and changes of shareholders
• Transfer of assets of the company
• Corporate financing and, in particular, shareholder debt financing
• Corporation tax, trade tax or sales tax entity
• Company and property succession
• Usufruct arrangements by way of anticipated succession in the company
• Assessment of companies and company shares according to tax legislation requirements
• Company splitting: Establishment, dissolution and protection
• Outsourcing of pension commitments
• Structural change, or other tax measures to prepare for the acquisition or sale of a company
• Taxation of non-profit corporations
• Taxation of the public sector (e.g. business enterprises)
• Advice during the establishment of companies on the legal form based on tax aspects
• Tax law-secure wording of contracts, e.g. the wording of loan contracts, lease agreements and employment contracts, between relatives or to avoid the hidden distribution of profits.
• On-going tax advice of companies, in particular, also in questions of international tax law
• Sales tax advice on all - in particular, international - aspects of sales tax law

Advantages

Tax law advice for companies is one of the core competences of the LHP tax advisers and tax lawyers. LHP Attorneys Tax Advisers have worked for companies worldwide with regard to questions of national and international tax law - for more two decades. Because of our international network, we can call in colleagues in the respective country concerned or, in addition, ensure that they support you. As well as ongoing tax support for companies, our active and dynamic advice always focuses on possible design options regarding tax and company law aspects.