E-mobility is being promoted by German politics as a central component of a sustainable and climate-friendly transportation system. For this reason, the purchase and operation of electric vehicles is being promoted in a variety of ways: whether through financial incentives for the purchase of an electric vehicle (environmental bonus), through concessions on vehicle tax or also KfW funding for so-called "wallboxes". In addition, the expansion of the charging infrastructure will be further promoted and supported so that Germany establishes itself as a lead market for electromobility. For the mobility service providers, this creates, among other things, many new tax challenges resulting from the large number of participants in the market and the newly emerging service relationships.

From a VAT perspective, this raises questions about the classification of the sales occurring in the context of electromobility, the business models, and the services provided by the participants such as the charging station operator, mobility operator, or the issuer of e-charging cards. Furthermore, the unclear legal situation in connection with the charging of electric vehicles harbors VAT risks that may lead to a subsequent payment of VAT or additional VAT owed. Exciting questions arise in connection with the VAT classification of the sales that take place with the charging process.

Another key issue in practice is the provision of e-vehicles to employees. This raises both sales tax and income tax issues. For example, tax incentives have been created for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids used as company cars, such as tax relief on the valuation of private use until the end of 2030, a tax exemption for charging current in the company, and flat-rate taxation for the transfer of charging devices. Other issues arise in connection with so-called "wallboxes" such as the allocation of these to the company or the transfer of wallboxes to employees and the consequences of their use.

The transformation of the Automotive industry creates these and many other new topics and issues, in which our experts will be happy to assist you.

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