Brussels, 20/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 19 November, the European Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Germany, calling on the country to bring its inheritance tax rules on special maintenance allowances into line with EU law.
German legislation allows German tax authorities to grant a special maintenance allowance to surviving spouses or registered partners of a deceased individual only if either one or both of them are tax residents in Germany. The allowance is not available to surviving spouses or registered partners when they inherit an estate or an investment that is located in Germany, but the deceased and the heir are tax resident in another member state.
The Commission considers this to be an unjustified restriction on the free movement of capital, as the value of the inheritance is reduced in cases where these tax residence criteria are not fulfilled. Moreover, it may deter other EU nationals from investing their capital in German properties and investments. Germany has two months to act, or the matter may be referred to the Court of Justice of the EU. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)