Are Americans in Germany under taxation pressure?

The difficulties for Americans currently living in Germany in trying to find good solutions for their financial investments are increasing. Caught by tax obligations in both countries and the restrictions imposed on and by commercial banks in Germany, holding investments with banks in the USA, mainly in mutual funds, was often seen as the best solution.

The introduction of a new German investment tax law in January 2018 with very high additional declaration requirements and correspondingly high costs for investments lodged with foreign banks makes it essential to rethink this investment strategy.

For all Americans wanting to stay in Germany for a longer period, given the new circumstances and also to avoid currency risks, it is advisable to plan the management of their investment portfolios in Germany.

Even if the news regarding banks‘ dealings with Americans paints a different picture, as experienced and completely independent investment advisors we can still arrange for a custodian bank to hold our clients’ assets here in Germany. By doing so, we enable our clients to manage their investment fund portfolios over the medium and long term.

In our view, if you want to avoid the expense of the new investment fund taxation from the outset, you should make the transfer from the USA to Germany in 2018. This should be done with the advice of German and US tax advisors in order to plan the transfer of your assets and to keep the consequential tax costs from these transfers as low as possible.

With our network of US-American and German tax consultants, we can offer you detailed and comprehensive advice.

We will happily be available to you for a personal discussion should you wish it.