If an employee is granted the discounted acquisition of shares from the employer or from a third party in return for their work, this constitutes income from employment under Section 19(1) sentence 1 no. 1 in conjunction with Section 8(1) of the German Income Tax Act (EStG), to the extent that the employer sells the shares to the employee at a discount, meaning that the value of the shares at the time the binding sale transaction is concluded by both parties exceeds the agreed purchase price.<\/p>\n
In the year in dispute, the claimant earned income from employment within the meaning of Section 19(1) sentence 1 no. 1 EStG through his work for A-AG. In that year, the principal shareholder and chairman of the management board of A-AG sold shares in A-AG from his private assets, including to the claimant\u2019s wife. The claimant\u2019s wife and the principal shareholder concluded a notarised purchase agreement dated September 1997 for shares in A-AG at their nominal value. The agreement also referred, among other things, to the planned stock exchange listing in August 1997, which in fact took place in that month. The claimant argued that the sale had already taken place before the stock exchange listing in August 1997, at a time when the actual value of the shares did not exceed their nominal value. Nevertheless, the defendant tax office amended the claimant\u2019s income tax assessment by attributing the taxable benefit obtained through the discounted acquisition of the shares to him as taxable income from employment. The objection and subsequent action were unsuccessful. The claimant\u2019s appeal on points of law was successful; the Federal Fiscal Court referred the case back to the Fiscal Court.<\/p>\n
Income from employment under Section 19(1) sentence 1 no. 1 EStG includes not only salaries and wages, but also other benefits and remuneration granted \u201cfor\u201d employment, provided they can at least in a broader sense be classified as consideration for the provision of labour. This also applies to the discounted acquisition of shares from the employer. In addition, income under Section 19(1) sentence 1 no. 1 EStG may also exist where benefits are provided by a third party or to a third party. The prerequisite is that the benefit to the third party is granted because of the employee\u2019s services. Whether a benefit is to be regarded as caused by the employment relationship and therefore classified as income from employment must be determined on the basis of the trial court\u2019s assessment of the facts in the individual case. A benefit does not create taxable income if the acquisition of an asset took place on market terms. In the case of the acquisition of shares, a taxable benefit exists only if the value of the shares exceeds the agreed purchase price. In the case of non-listed shares, the value must be determined in accordance with Section 11(2) of the German Valuation Act (BewG). The relevant point in time is the conclusion of the binding sale transaction for both parties, not the time at which the acquired shares are received. Changes in the value of the shares between the conclusion of the obligation transaction and the completion transaction belong to the private, non-taxable asset sphere and not to the employer\u2019s sphere of influence.<\/p>\n
Praxishinweis: Die Entscheidung bringt dem Leser zur\u00fcck in die Zeiten des Neuen Marktes. Seinerzeit waren B\u00f6rseng\u00e4nge oftmals von ( teilweise umfangreichen) Family & Friends-Programmen begleitet. Hierbei wird einem kleinen Kreis von Personen der Erwerb der Aktien noch vor dem B\u00f6rsengang erm\u00f6glicht. Beg\u00fcnstigte solch eines Programms sind beispielsweise Familienmitglieder und Freunde der Altaktion\u00e4re, aber auch das Management und gute Kunden des Unternehemens. Family & Friends-Programme werden in der Erwartung aufgelegt, dass Kurswert der Aktien nach einem erfolgten B\u00f6rsengang h\u00f6her als der Zeichnungspreis im Rahmen des Programms liegt. Eben diese Erwartungshaltung ruft die Finanzverwaltung auf den Plan. In der vorliegenden Entscheidung hat der BFH ausgesprochen, dass es f\u00fcr die Ermittlung des Wertes der Aktien auf den Zeitpunkt des f\u00fcr die beiden Seiten verbindlichen Ver\u00e4u\u00dferungsgesch\u00e4fts abzustellen ist.<\/p>\n
BFH; Urteil vom 7.5.2014 \u2013 VI R 73\/12 = BeckRS 2014, 95358
\nQuelle: NJW-Spezial 18\/2014<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If an employee is granted the discounted acquisition of shares from the employer or from a third party in return for their work, this constitutes income from employment under Section 19(1) sentence 1 no. 1 in conjunction with Section 8(1) of the German Income Tax Act (EStG), to the extent that the employer sells the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":55719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t