https://legal.excellentwiki.com/germany/tax-law/ Recent content in tax law on ExcellentWiki - Legal Encyclopedia Hugo en-US Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://legal.excellentwiki.com/germany/tax-law/german-tax-law/ Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://legal.excellentwiki.com/germany/tax-law/german-tax-law/ <h2 id="sources-of-german-tax-law">Sources of German Tax Law</h2> <p>German tax law (Steuerrecht) is grounded in the Basic Law (Grundgesetz, GG), which distributes tax legislative powers between the Federation (Bund) and the Länder under Articles 105–108. The procedural cornerstone is the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung, AO 1977), governing tax assessment, collection, appeals, and penalties. Substantive tax statutes include the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG), the Corporation Tax Act (Körperschaftsteuergesetz, KStG), the Trade Tax Act (Gewerbesteuergesetz, GewStG), the VAT Act (Umsatzsteuergesetz, UStG), and the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act (Erbschaftsteuer- und Schenkungsteuergesetz, ErbStG). The Federal Ministry of Finance issues administrative decrees (Verwaltungsanweisungen) binding on tax authorities. Tax disputes are adjudicated by the Finance Courts (Finanzgerichte) at the Länder level, with appeals to the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof, BFH) in Munich.</p>