Capital gains tax on beer brands: Tax office charges Giesinger Bräu - massive impact for investors and companies

Capital gains tax on beer brands: Tax office charges Giesinger Bräu - massive impact for investors and companies

According to a report by www.merkur.de, the Giesinger Bräu now has to collect capital gains tax from mini-investors. The Munich-based company rewards everyone who participates in the business online via a crowd investment portal with “participation certificates” worth six percent interest on the investment. But now the tax office demands that the brewery collect and pay the capital gains tax independently. This step affects around 7,000 people who took part in Giesinger Bräu's crowdfunding or crowdinvesting campaigns.

The new regulations mean that some investors have to transfer their capital gains tax to at least two recipients: on the one hand to the Giesinger Bräu and on the other hand to the tax office. It doesn't matter whether the interest is paid out in the form of money or in kind, such as beer and food. Managing this taxation will represent a significant effort for the brewery and its team.

Additionally, this process costs money because it requires hiring specially trained staff to manage the tax burden. Bräu boss Steffen Marx is disappointed with the new regulation and emphasizes that this bureaucratically strangles the innovative financing method of crowd investing. He is currently negotiating with the tax office about whether investors could pay the tax indirectly by receiving fewer participation certificates. It remains to be seen how this regulation will affect crowd investing and other companies in similar industries.