Act on the Reporting Obligation and the Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters by Reporting Platform Operators (Platform Tax Transparency Act (PStTG), Plattformen-Steuertransparenzgesetz)

BMF, 2.2.2023, IV B 6 - S 1316/21/10019 :025

Questions concerning the application of the Platform Tax Transparency Act

The Platform Tax Transparency Act (PStTG) of 20 December 2022 (Federal Tax Gazette I, p. 2730) introduced a reporting obligation for operators of digital platforms and the cross-border automatic exchange of information between tax authorities of EU Member States. The Act serves to transpose Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 of 22 March 2021 amending Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (OJ L 104 of 25 March 2021, p. 1). The Act entered into force as of 1 January 2023.

This circular assists in the proper implementation of the Platform Tax Transparency Act and addresses issues of practical relevance.

With reference to the outcome of discussions with the highest revenue authorities of the Länder, the following arrangements apply:

General aspects

Does the Platform Tax Transparency Act have any legal impact on the taxation of income or revenue?

No. The Platform Tax Transparency Act only contains tax procedural law. It does not affect other tax laws. In particular, the Platform Tax Transparency Act does not have any impact on the laws that concern the individual types of taxes and include provisions on, for example, taxpayers, the objects of taxation, tax bases or tax rates (e.g. the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz), the Corporation Tax Act (Körperschaftsteuergesetz), the Trade Tax Act (Gewerbesteuergesetz) and the VAT Act (Umsatzsteuergesetz)), which determine the taxation of income and revenue.

Division 1 – General provisions

A. Definitions

A.1 Platform; platform operator (section 3 PStTG)

1.1

Is there an exception for platforms that are only used within a company or group? No. The Platform Tax Transparency Act does not exclude the possibility that the seller pursuant to section 4 (2) PStTG and the platform operator pursuant to section 3 (2) PStTG are related legal entities (section 6 (2) PStTG).

A.2 User; seller (section 4 PStTG)

1.2	In the case of a service being commissioned, is the supplying company (principal), which is not the platform operator, treated the same as the company that ultimately performs the service (commission agent)? The decisive factor is which party is registered as a seller on the platform in accordance with section 4 (2) PStTG. It is irrelevant whether there is a person behind the seller or not. If the principal and the commission agent act as sellers on a platform, the decisive factor is which of them enters into the legal obligation with the other user with regard to performing the relevant activity in the specific situation.
1.3	Which securities markets are regarded as established securities markets? The list of regulated markets maintained by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for the purposes of Directive 2004/39/EC on markets in financial instruments (MiFID) is to be used when determining which markets are established securities markets pursuant to section 4 (5) sentence 1 no 2 PStTG. The website can be accessed at the following link: https://registers.esma.europa.eu/publication/searchRegister?core=esma_registers_upreg
1.4	When it comes to applying the de minimis threshold, should the number of sales or the total amount of the consideration be used as a basis? A seller is deemed to be an excluded seller pursuant to section 4 (5) sentence 1 no 4 PStTG if the seller, during the reportable period and using the same platform, sold goods in fewer than 30 cases and was paid or credited less than EUR2,000 in total as consideration as a result. Both thresholds must not be exceeded, taken together. For example: seller A sells items with a total value of EUR200 as part of 32 online auctions. Although A is below the threshold with regard to the total amount of the considerations, it sells goods in more than 29 cases. Accordingly, A is not an excluded seller.
1.5	What should be used as a basis when determining the number of sales of goods – the number of items sold or the number of sales transactions concluded? The key factor is the number of legal transactions concluded. The number of items sold is not relevant.

A.3 Relevant activity; consideration (section 5 PStTG)

A.3.1 Relevant activity

1.6

Does section 5 (1) sentence 2 PStTG cover employees and related enterprises or only employees (of the platform operator and its related enterprises)? The provisions of section 5 (1) sentence 2 PSTG cover only employees of the platform operator or employees of a related legal entity of the platform operator. Activities that are performed by a related legal entity of the platform operator can constitute a relevant activity.

1.7

Do consulting and brokerage services also constitute a personal service or is the condition for this that these must be provided personally by a consultant or on an automated basis via the internet? Consulting and brokerage services also constitute a personal service pursuant to section 5 (1) sentence 1 no 2 PStTG to the ...