payment and collection of due taxes in times of the coronavirus crisis

Dear Sirs,
 
with this letter, we would like to inform you about the measures taken by the German Government concerning the payment and collection of due taxes in times of the coronavirus crisis.
 
The tax office supports companies through the following new regulations:
 
·         Due taxes are to be deferred interest-free if sales have collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis. This will be implemented by instructions to the tax authorities, which for most taxes are with the federal states. There is to be a simplified procedure for this. In the appendix we send you an application form with which the advance payments can be reduced or tax payments deferred.
 
·         Tax advance payments, at least for income and corporation tax, can be adjusted more easily. This should also be possible through an uncomplicated procedure. However, it is still unclear whether the regulation also applies to VAT tax and trade tax.
 
·         Enforcement measures such as the attachment of bank accounts will be suspended until 31 December 2020 as long as the tax debtor is affected by the effects of the corona virus - according to the announcement by the German government.
 
·         According to reports, a letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance is to be published this week in order to concretely fix the regulations. In addition, supporting measures are planned for the submission of advance VAT returns and the submission of wage tax returns.
 
If we can support you in deferring the tax payments due or reducing the advance payments, please inform us accordingly. It can be confidently assumed that the advance payments of corporation tax and income tax can be reduced to EUR 0 until further notice and that the due corporation tax and income tax payments (from the annual tax returns) can be deferred interest-free.
 
It is not yet clear whether this also applies to VAT tax, trade tax or wage tax. As soon as we learn something new and, above all, binding, we will inform you immediately.
 
We will be happy to assist you with applications for reduction or deferral of due taxes!

Stay healthy!