On 6 and 7 February 2023, the Council of State visited Munich for a bilateral seminar at the German Federal Finance Court (Bundesfinanzhof). This meeting marked the beginning of a cooperation between the two institutions, parallel to the long-standing cooperation between the Council of State and the German Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht).
This seminar was organised around three round tables, each introduced by two French and German judges, on the following themes :
- tax justice in France and Germany,
- international tax issues such as the notion of actual beneficiary,
- the role of the tax judge in the financing of political life (political foundations, political parties, etc.)
What is the Bundesfinanzhof ?
It is the highest court in Germany for tax and customs matters and one of the five highest German courts. Its litigation functions partly overlap with those of the Council of State in tax matters.