Editorial

Dear Readers, 

We hope that 2026 has started well for you. Climate change does indeed mean that limiting global warming and, in particular, reducing CO2 emissions still constitute a major challenge. It is however quite astonishing how the strategy departments of companies, with expensive support from management consultants, overshot the mark in much the same way as the EU bodies did with their regulatory frenzy of sustainability reporting. Against this background, the significant reduction in the scope and depth of reporting as well as the companies addressed is to be welcomed. In the Key Issue report in this edition of the PKF magazine, in the Accounting & Finance section, you can read about what companies will have to prepare themselves for from 2026 onwards with regard to sustainability reporting.

In the Legal section, we first take a look at a recent ruling from the Federal Fiscal Court that is likely to take away the hope that the Real Estate Tax Reform might not be constitutional. The second report considers the issue of to what extent the e-mails of an audited company may be requested during a tax audit. Moreover, we consider the question of whether, in the case of reorganisations, applications for maintaining the book values always have to be explicitly and separately made in a letter to the local tax office - or whether it is sufficient to make an indirect application that can be unequivocally inferred from the submitted documents. Subsequently, we have summarised another Federal Fiscal Court ruling for you on the issue of whether loss carryforwards of an accruing company are transferred to the acquiring company. 

Furthermore, we report on a change in the way electricity costs incurred for the charging of a company car are reimbursed to employees. It should be noted with immediate effect that - contrary to the much-vaunted cuts to bureaucracy - flat rates in the traditional sense will no longer be possible and the amount consumed will always have to be substantiated. In a further report, we have put together the social insurance contribution thresholds that are applicable for 2026. 

News in brief about claiming a tax deduction for maintenance payments and about the recognition of contracts between related parties round off our range of reports for January.

With our best wishes for a healthy and prosperous year and wishing you an interesting read,

Your PKF-Team