Systemic and Tax Legal Aspects of the Provision of Material Public Services by German Communes

Abstract

Fiscal cross-bracing enables communes to optimize tax charges with regard to corporate income tax. It consists in the possibility of combining, in one structure, one’s own establishment (the public law form) or a limited liability company or a joint stock company (the private law form) with the majority share of the commune. It is combination in the strict sense. Combination of organizational units of the commune in a concern is defined as tax combination in a broad sense. Profit-making and loss-making organizational units are combined in one structure, and their combined financial results constitute the tax base. In this way, communes are able to maintain the provision of loss-making material services. The reduction of the tax burden resulting from the aforementioned combination also makes it possible to finance other communal services.