Capital gains tax
January 10, 2012 | 75,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Yanqiong Bolik
Dear Sir or Madam,
The following situation exists:
In my securities account, there are BMW zero coupon bonds (WKN 480463). These bonds were transferred to this account from other accounts in the year 2001.
The personal acquisition data (value and time of the bonds) is not stored. The bond pays back in five equal parts, each on 21.04 from 2008 to 2012, 96.931% each (= 18.582% capital repayment plus 78.349% capital gain).
In April 2010, the payout amount was taxed by the custodian bank with the capital replacement assessment basis (30%, §43a para. 2 EStG). In July 2011, this taxation was reversed and subsequently 78.349% of the payout amount was taxed according to §20 EStG and 18.582% according to §43a EStG.
In December 2011, the complete payout amount from April 2009, which was then taxed based on the replacement assessment basis, was additionally taxed with 78.349% of the payout according to §20 EStG and 18.582% of the payout according to §43a EStG.
My questions:
1. Is the bank's approach legally correct to tax the entire payout amount instead of applying the capital replacement assessment basis, since my actual capital gain to the bank is not known due to the lack of acquisition data?
2. Is the multiple taxation that occurred in December 2011 for April 2009 permissible?
3. Should I, for simplicity, offset the tax payments made so far with old losses according to §23 EStG, since the bank is not willing to change its approach?
Yours sincerely
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry, which I will gladly answer taking into consideration your input and the rules of this platform.
Please note that my explanation is based on the facts presented, and that adding, omitting, changing information, or the ambiguity of the information may alter the tax result.
Regarding 1)
The redemption of the bond, subject to a full review of the necessary documents, could be structured in such a way that the capital repayment falls within the scope of § 20 para. 2 sentence 2 EStG (repayment equivalent to a sale) and the capital gain falls within the scope of § 20 para. 1 No. 7 EStG. The income according to § 20 para. 2 and para. 1 No. 7 EStG is subject to capital gains tax. The assessment basis in the case of § 20 para. 2 EStG (repayment equivalent to a sale) is the sale gain. If the acquisition data is not proven, the tax deduction must be based on the substitute assessment basis. This amounts to 30% of the income from the redemption. In the case of § 20 para. 1 No. 7 EStG (capital gain), the capital gains tax is 25 percent of the capital gain.
Regarding 2)
The bank is obligated to withhold capital gains tax only once for the same taxable event. Whether multiple taxation has been carried out cannot be explained from a distance due to the lack of review of necessary documents.
Regarding 3)
Old losses from private sales transactions within the meaning of § 23 EStG a.F. can also be offset with income according to § 20 para. 2 EStG (only capital gains from capital investments) in the assessment period in which you earn income from § 20 para. 2 EStG.
I would like to point out that the system for taxing capital gains has become extremely complex as of 01.01.2009. Many transitional regulations must be considered. If the situation is of great importance to you, I recommend that you have a colleague on-site thoroughly review the situation with the necessary documents.
I hope I was able to assist you.
If there are any further questions, please feel free to use the follow-up function.
Best regards,
Dr. Yanqiong Bolik
Tax consultant
Bildstöckle 6, 70567 Stuttgart
Tel: +49 (0)711 / 9332 2657
Email: info@zdbz.de
www.steuerberatung.zdbz.de
