On 7 May 2021, the German Federal Council (upper house of parliament - Bundesrat) approved the Law amending the Real Estate (Land) Transfer Tax Act, which includes measures to prevent abusive tax arrangements through so-called share deals that are meant to avoid the tax. The Law was approved by the Bundestag (lower house) on 23 April 2021.
In particular, the amendments reduce the participation threshold for transactions subject to the transfer tax from 95% to 90% and increases the period d…