10. Jan 2025

Editorial

Dear Readers,

We hope that 2025 has started well for you. Fortunately, we are able to kick off with some relief - although not everything that was obtainable - as the Key Issue for the month of January; for the time being, companies do not need to disclose sustainability information in accordance with EU requirements in their management reports after all. This is because, in 2024, German lawmakers did not transpose the CSRD Directive. Instead, on 17.12.2024, the German Federal Government actually submitted a request to the EU Commission asking for the sustainability reporting requirement to be postponed for two years. Despite the lack of statutory provisions and in view of the expectations of the capital markets as well as of the processes that have already been completed in this respect, large, capital market-oriented companies will nevertheless report on the 2024 financial year. All the other companies will be faced with the dilemma of uncertainty with respect to the date for the initial report, on the one hand, and the enormous amount of time needed to prepare a sustainability report, on the other hand. In the Accounting & Finance section we discuss these tensions with respect to ESG reporting and give a recommendation.

As regards tax, we once again take a closer look at the tax consequences of a disproportionate profit distribution - this time the focus is on the gift tax aspects. In addition, we outline the most important changes in a recent Federal Ministry of Finance circular on e-invoicing, which are effectively of relevance for all businesses.

In the Legal reporting field, first of all, we provide information about the changes to the transparency register as of 2025 that will need to be taken into account. Furthermore, we expound on the so-called statutory matrimonial property regime swing (Güterstandsschaukel) and describe the possible arrangements that present themselves to spouses.

Our brief reports section sets out not only information on the new thresholds under social security regulation, but also interesting facts about the German Medical Research Act and gifts to customers.

Your PKF Team

Witty remark

When it came to combustion engines, we were not really able to assert ourselves against foreign manufacturers who had more than a hundred years of history and experience. With electric cars we now have the opportunity to change that and to overtake the competition.

Du Guozhong, Managing Director at the Chinese car manufacturer  BYD Company Limited (Quote from 2016).