Allocation of wages from a company event

For the purpose of determining taxable wages from a company event, the employer's expenses must be divided equally among all employees who actually participate.

Despite statutory regulations, administrative directives and long-standing case law, there are always disputes between employers and income tax auditors as to whether and to what extent taxable wages have arisen for the participants as part of a company event. In one such dispute, the Federal Fiscal Court has now ruled that all of the employer's expenses directly related to the event are to be included in the assessment of wages, irrespective of whether they may constitute an advantage for the employee. These total costs must then be divided equally among the participants present at the company event. This also applies if more participants were registered but then did not attend the event. The non-participation of an employee therefore increases the taxable wages of the other participants.