It is advisable to shorten a current financial year if the shares in a controlled company are sold during the year and a consolidated tax group for income tax purposes is to continue until the date of sale. The amendment to the articles of association with the new short financial year required for this must be entered in the commercial register by the end of the financial year at the latest. However, this can lead to surprising and little-known delays at some registry courts in connection with the necessary approval from the tax office, which can threaten to prevent timely implementation.
Details can be found in the article "Short financial year and fiscal unity - Little-known risks when terminating the fiscal unity at the end of a new short financial year" in the Professional journal GmbH-Steuerberater 2019 Issue 10 Page 311 - 314 a. With appropriate foresight on the part of the consultant, the design can be successfully implemented in good time.
Dr Wolfgang Walter is a lawyer, tax consultant and specialist lawyer for tax law at the tax law firm TAXGATE, which specialises in transactions, investments and tax compliance, and comments on the tax group regulations in the KStG commentary by Bott/Walter published by Stollfuß-Verlag.
