MinStG — Minimum Tax Act (Germany)

The Minimum Tax Act (MinStG) — officially: Gesetz zur Gewährleistung einer globalen Mindestbesteuerung für Unternehmensgruppen (Act to Ensure Global Minimum Taxation for Corporate Groups) — of 21 December 2023 (BGBl. 2023 I Nr. 397) implements EU Directive 2022/2523 (Pillar 2 Minimum Tax Directive) into German law. It introduces a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QDMTT, §§ 90–93), an income inclusion rule (IIR, §§ 8–10) and an undertaxed profits rule (UTPR, §§ 11–14).

• Minimum tax rate: 15% effective tax rate (ETR) on a country-by-country basis
• Threshold: Groups with consolidated revenue ≥ EUR 750 million in at least 2 of the last 4 years
• Entry into force: 1 January 2024 (IIR and QDMTT), UTPR from 2025
• Mechanism: Top-up tax levies the difference to the 15% minimum rate
• Competent authority: BZSt for the GloBE Information Return (GIR) and international exchange of information (§ 75); local tax office for tax assessment (§ 96)

The MinStG is the result of a more than decade-long international process to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). On 8 October 2021, 136 jurisdictions in the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework agreed on the two-pillar solution. Pillar 2 provides for a global minimum tax of 15%.

The EU implemented Pillar 2 with Directive 2022/2523 of 14 December 2022. Germany was required to transpose this directive by 31 December 2023. The Bundestag adopted the MinStG on 10 November 2023, the Bundesrat approved it on 15 December 2023. It was promulgated in the Federal Law Gazette on 21 December 2023 (BGBl. 2023 I Nr. 397). It applies for the first time to fiscal years beginning after 30 December 2023 (i.e. from 1 January 2024 for companies with a calendar year as fiscal year).

The MinStG applies to:

• Covered groups: Multinational and large domestic groups with annual revenue ≥ EUR 750 million
• Covered entities: All group entities resident in Germany and German parent entities for foreign low-tax jurisdictions
• Exclusions: Government entities, international organisations, non-profit organisations, pension funds, certain investment entities
• Substance-based Income Exclusion (SBIE): Allowance for substantial economic activity (payroll and tangible asset component)

Core obligations under the MinStG:

• GloBE Information Return (GIR): Annual information return containing calculation details on ETR and top-up tax; competent authority: BZSt (§ 75)
• GIR deadline: 15 months after the end of the fiscal year (18 months in the first year). All deadlines end no earlier than 30 June 2026 (§ 75 MinStG)
• Minimum top-up tax: Payment of top-up tax where ETR in a jurisdiction falls below 15%; tax assessment by the local tax office (§ 96)
• Primary supplementary tax (IIR, §§ 8–10): Parent entity taxes low-taxed profits of foreign subsidiaries
• Secondary supplementary tax (UTPR, §§ 11–14): Backstop mechanism where no IIR applies
• Qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QDMTT, §§ 90–93): Germany levies its own qualified domestic minimum top-up tax
• CbCR Safe Harbour (§ 84): For fiscal years beginning on or before 31 December 2026 and ending before 1 July 2028; three alternative tests: (1) revenue < EUR 10m and profit < EUR 1m, (2) simplified ETR ≥ transitional rate, (3) profit ≤ substance-based income exclusion

1 correction:
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- Missing key_dates: law amendments in 2024 and 2025
- last_amended shows 2024-01-01 instead of actual last amendment date
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