Tax Law Could Spur German Acquisitions.(Brief Article)

National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, August, 2000 by THOMAS, TREVOR

A recent overhaul of tax regulations in Germany could lead many German financial services firms to go on a buying spree in the United States, a major accounting firm predicted. Elimination of the capital gains tax on divestitures, enacted by the German parliament in July, will free many banks and insurance companies there to sell off nonfinancial firms they have held since after World War II, according to an analysis by KPMG, based in New York.

This would free up ample cash for mergers and acquisitions in other countries, including the United States, the report said. Starting in 2002, German companies will be able to unload their stakes in other firms without having to pay a 40 percent capital gains tax, as they do now. In addition, German corporate...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.