Last Thursday, July 26 2012, the US Treasury issued a model intergovernmental agreement to improve tax compliance and to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). This model agreement was developed in cooperation with the other five FATCA Partners, namely France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

On July 20, 2012, the German Federal Ministry of Finance published the initial draft of an act implementing the AIFM Directive 2011/61/EU into domestic law. The initial draft is for discussion purposes only.

On 3 May, 2012, the German federal government submitted a legislative draft of an act for the amendment of the German Insurance Premium Tax Act and the German Motor Vehicle Tax Act (Verkehrsteuerungsänderungsgesetz – VerkehrStÄndG). This draft act is the legislator’s reaction to losses in tax revenue from specific product structures (so-called insurance packages) as well as certain judgments by the Federal Tax Court, which were not decided in favor of the German tax authorities (Decision on the expiration of the accessory statute of limitations of the indemnitor and the Decision on deductibles under motor vehicle liability insurance). In addition, the draft act introduces administrative relief for insurance companies. The amendments should enter into effect on 1 January 2013, such as the possibility of an annual insurance premium tax filing.