Are pensions possibly taxed excessively?
Basic judgments are pending - a decision is expected to be announced in May.
Update from April 12, 2021:
How will the dispute about
possible double taxation of pensions
be resolved?
In two
pending cases
to the
Federal Fiscal
decide (BFH, XR and XR 20/19 33/19) as
wiwo.de
reported.
"On May 19, the BFH wants to negotiate verbally for the first time in both proceedings, as it has now announced and thus confirms previous exclusive information from WirtschaftsWoche", the report says (as of March 30).
A decision is expected to be announced in a separate date at the end of May, the BFH announced.
When will the ruling on pension taxation be made?
As
t-online.de reported
(as of April 9), there are theoretically two possibilities: Either the Senate decides to communicate the respective judgments in writing.
But that is unlikely,
t-online
quoted
a BFH spokesman.
The other variant, according to the report, is that another date for the pronouncement of the judgment will be set - a maximum of two weeks after the hearing.
"I assume, as of now," the spokesman said according to the portal at the time.
"In this case, the judgments on pension taxation will be made by May 31st."
Judgments with high financial consequences for millions of Germans expected
The sentences are "have huge financial consequences for millions of German * - no matter which way they turn out," says
wiwo.de
.
"It may not even be the decision in individual cases that is decisive, but rather the principles set up, which can then also be transferred to other cases," writes the portal.
For the state it is even about millions.
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Update from March 16, 2021:
Millions of Germans are affected by the dispute, on which an important ruling by the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) is expected in the coming months: Are pensions in Germany possibly taxed excessively high?
Some experts at least assume that there will be double taxation on pensions in Germany.
In an interview with
fr.de
, the Saarbrücken financial mathematician Klaus Schindler, who developed a corresponding formula, explains using an example: “With a
retirement age in
2020 and 35 years of contribution period,
i.e. contributions beginning
in
1985, the taxable portion of the total pension contributions is around 40%.
In contrast, only 20% of the pension income is tax-free in the payment phase.
Instead, the amount should be 40%.
Conversely, this means that there is double taxation. "
Schindler also explains in the interview: “According to our calculation, double taxation applies at least to pensioners who retire from 2005 onwards.
At this point in time it is still relatively low, but continues to rise rapidly and in the retirement years 2022 - 2023 it reaches its maximum rate of 20 to 23% and, unjustifiably, the higher the greater the number of contribution years. "Only from the year In 2070, the first senior citizens would no longer be taxed twice, according to Schindler.
"For me as a financial mathematician, this construction is adventurous."
In the coming months, the Federal Fiscal Court will decide in two pending proceedings (BFH, XR 20/19 and XR 33/19), as reported by
wiwo.de
(as of March 10).
These judgments would have high financial consequences for millions of Germans - no matter in which direction they turn out, according to the portal.
For the state it is even billions.
Also read:
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Demands for pension reform in Germany
Federal Fiscal Court decides on controversial pension taxation
Article of January 26, 2021:
The year 2021 could be
an important
one for
taxpayers
.
A
groundbreaking judgment from the Federal Fiscal Court is
expected
this year
on the possible
double taxation of pensions *
.
As the portal
wiwo.de
reported a few months ago, the
dispute revolves
around the fact that the rules for taxing pensions are possibly unconstitutional.
Because they could, depending on how they are calculated, lead to double taxation, according to the portal.
But according to the Federal Constitutional Court, there shouldn't be.
So now the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) should decide on the issue.
Also read
: More and more retirees have to file a tax return
Experts expect a groundbreaking verdict from
the
Federal
Fiscal
Court
this year.
According to the Evangelischer Pressedienst (epd), the hearing before the Court of Justice in Munich about a possible double taxation of pensions was originally expected for autumn 2020.
Due to the corona pandemic, however, the date has been postponed several times.
A decision is now pending in 2021.
The oral hearing was only postponed to January, reports the portal waz.de (as of January 25, 2021), now the second quarter of 2021 is targeted.
The Federal Fiscal Court wants to decide on the much-discussed taxation of pensions in the spring, writes the portal.
In essence, the question is whether there is currently at least some of the around 21 million pensioners facing unconstitutional double taxation, writes the portal.
The starting point is the corresponding lawsuit by a retiree.
+
Controversial issue of double taxation of pensions: Experts expect a groundbreaking verdict.
(Archive photo)
© Felix Kästle / dpa
Also read
: Pension: Don't forget your tax return - what those affected should know
The so-called
double control
, like the portal
finanzen.de.
(As of: January 25, 2021) reported on the occasion of the judgment to be expected this year, for many retirees and future senior citizens "a
big and expensive nuisance
".
According to the report, depending on the individual situation, those affected lose
several thousand euros
, which the tax office wrongly collects from their point of view.
This happens because the tax authorities levy taxes on the statutory pension, although taxpayers have already paid the contributions from their taxed income, the portal writes about the criticism.
However, the
issue has not yet been finally resolved
.
Many retirees are likely to be all the more excited to see how the Federal Fiscal Court's judgment will turn out this year.
(
ahu) * Merkur.de and FR.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Sources: fr.de; wiwo.de; finanzen.de; epd; waz.de
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List of rubric lists: © Felix Kästle / dpa
