Change of residence

Due to the high tax burden in Germany, many taxpayers are increasingly asking themselves where is the best place to live for tax purposes.

Countries such as Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Greece or Great Britain offer tax advantages that can lead to considerable tax relief. Keywords here are the Austrian tax exemption of gifts and inheritances, the Swiss lump-sum taxation of foreign income, the non-dom regime for high-net-worth individuals in Italy or Cyprus, the special status of “non-ordinary tax residents” in Portugal and the tax exemption of income not transferred to the UK for non-domiciles.

However, considerably higher taxes may arise abroad than in Germany.

When changing residence, on the other hand, not only the tax regulations in the country of residence but also various tax regulations in Germany must be observed.

These are, for example:

• Withdrawal taxation in the case of shareholdings in corporations
• Limited and extended limited tax liability
• Extended concept of nationality for German nationals in the case of gift and inheritance tax
• Entrustment taxation in the event of loss of the German right of taxation
• Overriding taxation in accordance with the DTA Switzerland

In addition, the relevant provisions of the respective double taxation treaties have to be considered.

LOHR + COMPANY has cooperation partners in the most important industrial countries with proven experience in international tax law.