When a non-profit corporation grants its managing director a disproportionately high remuneration for work, it constitutes a misuse of funds (German Federal Court of Finance, judgment of March 12, 2020, V R 5/17). This can lead to the revocation of the non-profit status of the corporation by the German tax office. The board members should check, or let check, in advance of any salary adjustments their respective proportionality, as they can, and must, be determined in accordance with the arm's length principle. ​

According to Section 3 of the German Occupational Safety and Health Act, the employer is obliged to take all measures appropriate to the circumstances of the company to protect the employee from infection. The health and safety regulations of the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs are constantly being revised and all employers are obliged to inform themselves about them as soon as possible. As soon as an employer is unsure which protective measures need to be taken for his specific company, he can contact the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA). 
The employer is responsible for the operational health care, but not for the public health care. 

Employee's refusal to work 
If the employer takes the necessary protective measures and informs the employee about it, he can demand the work performance from him. The mere fear of infection does not release the employee from the duty to work. 
Exception: the employee belongs to a risk group. In this case, the employee should provide a medical certificate and the employer and employee must work together to find a solution. Usually, they then agree on a sick leave. 
If the employee refuses to work despite everything, the employer can issue a warning or even notice. 

For the period from July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020, the sales tax in Germany will be reduced from 19% to 16% for the standard tax rate and from 7% to 5% for the reduced tax rate. The application of the tax rate is based on the performance date.
For companies entitled to deduct input tax, it does not matter whether the service was received before or after the time of the tax rate change; it is important that a correct invoice is available. Invoice defects lead to the loss of the input tax deduction. However, if services are rendered to recipients who are not entitled to deduct input tax, they should be carried out during the above-mentioned period if possible. 

A. Tax classification of COVID19 grants
The COVID19 emergency grants-in-aid from the German federal and state governments are taxable grants and must, therefore, be treated as operating income. Accordingly, they must be recognized in the determination of income as other operating income; as real subsidies, they are not subject to VAT.
B. Correct use of the COVID19 grants:
I. Check for eligibility:
1) Requirements for ALL grants (from the federal and state governments in Germany):

• the professional activity is the main source of income AND
• the applicant is actually in an existence-threatening economic situationdue to the effects of the COVID19 epidemic.
  Partially self-employed persons such as employees, civil servants, pensioners, students, etc. cannot apply for the grants. Similarly, companies that were already in economic difficulties before the outbreak of the COVID19 epidemic are not eligible to apply.

Recently, a new special depreciation rule was created in Germany pursuant to § 7b EStG (German Income Tax Act) for the purchase and production of new rental apartments. In addition to the annual straight-line depreciation of 2% per annum, the special depreciation amounts to up to 5% per annum over a total period of 4 years. The special depreciation favours new housing developments, which were produced on the basis of a construction application submitted after 31 August 2018 and before 1 January 2022. ​

Through a federal-and-states decree, which was recently made public by the Tax Authority Hamburg, a tax-saving model for profit determinations under art. 4 sec. 3 EStG (German Income Tax Act) connected with leased company cars is to be prevented. Until now, high special leasing payments for leasing contracts with a term of less than five years have resulted in immediately deductible operating expenses in full. The later, very small leasing rates then resulted in small expenses. ​

On the 1. January 2019, a new obligation for all German employers emerges:  
They must ensure that their employees carry a valid A1 employer's certificate on all business trips to other EU countries or Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein, Switzerland. The employer receives this certificate online from the responsible social insurance institution (health insurance, German pension insurance, etc.). This legal regulation also applies to very short stays of the employees in one of the above-mentioned countries, for example, when they drive across the border to refuel their vehicle. Customs officials of the countries concerned are authorized to stop passengers at any time and to request the presentation of the A1 employer's certificate.

If you marry in a civil registry office in Germany, after the marriage the registry office will send the details of the marriage to the relevant residents' registration office. The registration office, in turn, transmits this data to the tax authorities. According to the law, the tax authority first assigns to both spouses the tax class IV. These information details are then stored in the ELSTAM database, from which the employers obtain the data for the correct payroll tax calculation.

If you marry abroad, you have to inform the registration office and the tax office after the marriage by yourself.
However, if the tax class IV is not the best option for both spouses, then you must use a form to apply to the tax office to change the tax class to tax classes III and V OR to use the work-factor method.

Since November 1, 2008, according to Art. 16 of the German Private Limited Companies Act (GmbHG), the list of shareholders in the Trade Register has been upvalued. Since then, it has been regarded as the basis of legitimacy for the exercise of shareholder rights and as a starting point for the good faith acquisition of shares.
However, incorrect or old shareholders lists are still to be found in the Trade Register. As a result, shareholders' resolutions may become void, profit-sharing rights may be disputed, or even share transfers may be declared invalid. These inaccurate lists, therefore, represent a considerable potential for liability risks for the company, the shareholders, and the managing director(s).

NEW: the duty to report foreign investments is extended to naming the commercial activity of the investee.
Until recently, according to Art. 138 of the German Fiscal Code the taxpayer had to report investments in non-German corporations or private companies to the tax office only if the investment – a direct or an indirect one –
a) reaches 10% or more AND
b) amounts to at least 150.000 EUR.
Now, the COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY OF THE INVESTEE must ALSO be reported to the tax office, that is – it has to be included in the tax declarations (income tax and corporation tax). This must be disclosed to the tax office within 14 months after the investment had been realised or after the participation limit had been reached. This deadline is not prolongable. A failure to comply with this reporting regulation constitutes an administrative offence, which can be fined up to 25.000 EUR.