One of the lesser known parts of the German tax system is simply called the “ZM”, which stands for “Zusammenfassende Meldung”. For anyone running a business in Germany, it is another form to fill in on a regular basis.
It all has to do with the VAT (Value Added Tax) system within the European Union. Put quite simply, if you buy something in a shop or pay for a service, then you pay VAT. For consumers, that’s the end of the story. The shop owner or service provider pays the VAT on to the tax office.
But if the customer is a business as well, they usually have a way to claim that tax back again from their local tax office (although there are some exceptions). [Read more…]
Many companies in Germany who provide their employees with company cars do not actually buy the cars outright, instead they prefer to lease them and 
This summer the German Government introduced a new tax of flight tickets. It is called the Luftverkehrsabgabe, and means that passengers have to pay between 8 and 45 Euros per flight and applies to all commercial passenger flights that take-off at German airports from 1st Januar, 2011.