The European Commission asked Germany today to bring its inheritance tax rules on special maintenance allowances in 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 (Article 63 (1) of TFEU) 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. The Commission's request takes the form of a reasoned opinion. In the absence of a satisfactory response within two months, the Commission may refer Germany to the Court of Justice of the EU.
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