For a long time, it has remained unclear, from a VAT perspective, as to how the funds collected by the collecting societies and then distributed to the publishers (so-called publisher’s share) is to be treated. The Federal Ministry of Finance’s letter of 14 October 2021 now provides clarity. Under certain circumstances, there may exist supplies of services, subject to VAT, between collecting societies and publishers.

In the legal case Dubrovin & Tröger GbR - Aquatics (C-373/19), the ECJ denied the VAT exemption for swimming lessons and thus confirmed its new definition of "school and university education". According to these standards, the scope of application of the VAT exemptions for educational services is considerably limited. As a result, part of the fiscal court case law will probably become obsolete quite soon. All education providers are affected by the decision and should now question the VAT assessment of their courses and events.

In practice, a number of VAT problems are associated with the development of charging infrastructure. The European Commission's VAT Committee has now once again addressed this issue. However, many relevant questions (e.g. on fuel cards or provision of electricity free of charge in the retail sector) remain unanswered, all resulting in the persistence of legal uncertainty in many areas of application.