Federal Constitutional Court takes apart inheritance tax law

The Federal Constitutional Court will soon rule on whether the Inheritance Tax Act as a whole, and in particular the tax reductions for business assets, may be unconstitutional.

At the hearing on July 8, 2014, the Federal Constitutional Court left hardly a good hair on the head regarding the preferential treatment of heirs to company assets. According to the questions that the judges put to the representatives of the German government, the probability that the tax exemption regulations will be shaken by the court's upcoming ruling in the fall has increased considerably. The German Association of Tax Consultants points this out. This means that there is little time left to secure the currently still valid rules through a succession plan and regulated transfer of assets. The tax advantage is only really secure if a tax assessment notice has already been issued. This would be valid even if the court were to declare a retroactive partial invalidity.